


The Perfect Little Boy

by PonderingWriter (Tziput13)



Series: Puffs' Saga [1]
Category: Powerpuff Girls
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, Original Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-27
Updated: 2014-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-15 11:52:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3446156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tziput13/pseuds/PonderingWriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a new boy that looks just like them appears in town, the girls find themselves with the need to discover who he is and what his secrets are before it's too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Stranger in Town

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Italiano available: [Il Ragazzino Perfetto](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4844324) by [PonderingWriter (Tziput13)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tziput13/pseuds/PonderingWriter)



> Originally published on Fanfiction.net on April 27th, 2014, and finished on May 17st, 2014.  
> Added to the Archive on Feubrary 27th, 2015.
> 
> Provisional note: currently under re-editing. Expect inconsistencies in the format and the quality of grammar between chapters, but feel free to read the full fanfiction since the reedit does not touch the plot or the basic structure of the text.

The city of Townsville! Located in the United States, Townsville is one of the best, most beautiful places you'd like to live in. Townsville's citizen are always happy and friendly between themselves and with newcomers. But this is not the most important element that makes Townsville so special. Even in this city there are problems with criminality and evil beings. But all of them are controlled and fought by three special, little superheroes, who have dedicated their life in protecting the metropolis: the Powerpuff Girls! Townsville is unique because the girls are unique. There is no one in the world that is like them...

There is?

Mr. Gray was a man like others, doing his daily routine in the city centre. He was walking in one of the many streets towards his favorite bar to have lunch. While he moved, he thought about various things, and his thoughts fell on the girls. Like any other good citizen of the city, he was grateful for their crime-fighting work. _We are so lucky to have the Powerpuff Girls,_ he thought, _I don't know how Townsville would look like by now without them. With not only the criminals but also the evil villains, not to mention the monsters_. Mr. Gray trembled at the thought, but only for a moment: _Even so, I feel safe. Everyone feels safe, with the girls protecting us._

Suddenly, a sound came to Mr. Gray's ears. He watched above him and saw a beam of light passing through the sky. _Speaking of the devil…_ he thought, smiling. Probably one of the girls was doing a reconnaissance trip of sorts. _Well, enough thinking for today_ , he thought while standing in front of the bar. He gave a last glance at the yellow beam that was going away.

_Wait a second. Yellow?_

Mr. Gray scratched his eyes and checked the flying object another time. There was no doubt: the beam of light in the sky was yellow, and he knew the girls' ones were green, pink and blue. Then, who was flying in the sky and leaving that streak?

Mr. Gray wasn't the only one to notice the yellow streak. People around him and far in the street stopped and raised their heads, surprised. It was impossible to see exactly who was flying, but they were able to identify at least a little, human shape at the top of the streak. All of them would have said it was a Powerpuff Girl, if it weren't for the wrong colour.

"Did one of the Powerpuff Girls change colour?" said one tall, black man. "I don't think so…" said an old woman, "In my opinion, it's that squirrel they're friends with." "Nah! It's too big for a little animal!" said a teenage boy. Mr. Gray listened to the various discussion going on around him. He was going to give his own opinion when he saw, among the crowd, a young man. He had become pale.

Mr. Gray reached him, worried: "Are you okay?" he asked. "Yes, no problem, thank you… but… I was thinking, the girls _aren't_ the only ones able to fly leaving a streak of light behind them. What if… if it's a new Rowdyruff Boy?"

For some unknown reason, the words of the young man were heard by many other people other than Mr. Gray. Within some seconds, panic started to grow in the crowd. It was just a theory, but it was enough to terrorize the citizens. Even Mr. Gray felt frightened and couldn't help trying to get as far as he could from the yellow streak.

The new arrival in town continued to move in the city centre. The news about him, however, were faster, and by now every person that saw him panicked. Sometimes it happened that the beam of light stopped: surely, the stranger was wondering what was happening down in the streets. The thought of a new Rowdyruff Boy, however, was preventing anyone from noticing this.

It was a matter of minutes before the first reports of the presence of the stranger arrived at the police stations. Some police officers weren't sure about the reliability of the information, but the calls kept growing in number. At last, the gravity of the situation brought the police stations to inform directly the Town Hall.

"Mayor!" said Miss Bellum, slamming open the door to his office, "There are reports about an unidentified flying individual in the sky!"

"And then?" asked the Mayor, annoyed. He was about to eat a pickle taken by one of his personal jars: "Why can't I eat my beloved pickle without being bothered because of someone who's just flying around?"

Miss Bellum continued nonetheless: "Mayor, I was told that the flying person is rumored to be a new Rowdyruff Boy…"

The pickle fell from the Mayor's hands. Miss Bellum finished, "The police officers are waiting for an order, as they don't know what to do, and panic is spreading all over the city."

"The Police can't do much against one of these _monsters,_ Miss Bellum," said the Mayor, this time with a surprisingly very serious expression, "I don't know whether the rumors are true or not, but there are only three persons in Townsville that will know what to do. We have to call them right now!"

* * *

"This stinks!" said Buttercup. She was alone in the living room, watching TV. "It's been four days without anything interesting! I'd give anything to have the chance to kick some butt right now!"

"Calm down, Buttercup," said Blossom's voice from their bedroom, "you should be happy that no accident has happened in Townsville these last few days!"

"Whatever…" muttered Buttercup, far from being convinced.

It was indeed a period without great crime events in Townsville. Bubbles was in the girls' bedroom along with Blossom, while Professor Utonium was working in the lab, alone.

Thus, the girls didn't expect the hotline to ring in that moment. Buttercup's eyes lightened up. "Yes! Finally some action!" She flew in their bedroom just in time to hear Blossom answering the phone: "Yes, Mayor?". Bubbles floated behind her sister, waiting to know about the new threat.

"You don't know what to do? But what exactly is happening? … A new Rowdyruff Boy? Are you sure? …Okay, mayor, were on it!" Blossom closed the hotline. Bubbles and Buttercup were eager to know what was going on.

"Ok, girls, there is a stranger who is flying around the city centre that is suspected to be a Rowdyruff Boy. The Mayor said it hasn't harmed anyone yet, but townspeople are panicking and if the rumors are true, Townsville can be in real trouble. We have to get to this guy, find out who he or she is and what its plans are!"

"A new Rowdyruff Boy? Who's the creator this time, Fuzzy Lumpkins?" Buttercup said, surprised. "Well, I don't care, let's go and give him a lesson!"

"Not again…" said Bubbles, surprised by the news as well. "Okay, I think we can handle it, knowing this stranger is alone. Blossom, we're ready!"

"Good… Let's role!" ordered Blossom. The three of them left the bedroom through the windows and flew towards the skyscrapers.

While they were flying, Blossom told her sisters more details: "The Mayor said that this guy leaves behind itself a streak of light similar to ours, except for the fact it is yellow."

"Yellow? That's weird…" said Bubbles. "I thought the same, Bubbles. We have to be careful, we don't know who exactly it is or what it is capable of. Understood?" Bubbles nodded and Buttercup replied, "All right, Bloss!"

In a minute, they reached the Town Hall. Blossom proceeded into one street, followed by her two sisters. They moved between the skyscrapers, carefully inspecting the surroundings. They soon encountered streets which were almost deserted. "No one is around... he's been here," said Bubbles matter-of-factly. "Yes, Bubbles. Let's follow this path!"

They continued to follow the deserted zones. Some people were still present, who were none or less all frightened. They sighed in relief when they saw the actual Powerpuff Girls flying above them.

The girls exited the buildings' barrier, finding themselves in Townsville's Park. The most visible element of the scenario here was obviously Mojo Jojo's observatory.

"Perhaps it was Mojo Jojo… He surely knows how to create a new ruff," said Bubbles. "Then I think we have to pay him a little visit! Agreed, Blossom?" said Buttercup, already preparing herself to leave for the observatory. But Blossom didn't answer her. "Blossom? Blossom? What are you…" she silenced herself.

On the other side of the park, not hidden by the observatory, there was a little black dot. The girls tried to use their powered eyesight to identify it, but as soon as they watched, the dot disappeared in a yellow light, and a yellow streak zoomed away into one of the streets outside the park.

The girls immediately flied forward and in some seconds reached the other side of the park and entered the same street the 'dot' had entered. "Ok, I only managed to have a quick glimpse of him, but I think he's a boy…" said Blossom while she was flying. "That's no good, he could really be a new Rowdyruff Boy!" commented Bubbles. "Then we'll have to stop him, Bubbles!" said Buttercup.

"I still don't understand. Why isn't he doing anything? I mean, it's like he was doing a tour or..." she stopped when she realized they were at an intersection, the yellow streak nowhere in sight. "Oh, great!" said Buttercup, "Now where are we going?"

"Powerpuff Girls!" shouted a voice from below. The girls watched the speaker, a woman with brown hair: "You have to turn left! He's gone that way!"

"Thanks, miss!" replied Blossom as they right away followed her advice.

The girls flew as fast as they could through the street, but after some seconds they encountered another intersection. This time, there was no one in sight able to help them. "Dang, we lost him!" said Buttercup angrily.

"We have to try some strategy to find him," said Blossom. "Bubbles, Buttercup, I want you to take opposite directions and then turn and fly in parallel. I will follow you from above in the sky in order to locate him while you distract him, wherever he is. Got it?" Bubbles and Buttercup nodded and immediately split up, going respectively right and left. Blossom instead flew upwards until she was at a sufficient height to observe the streets below. She watched the beams of light left by Bubbles and Buttercup until they turned and started to go forward. Blossom followed their direction and went forward, too. There was no sign of the stranger, but Blossom did not relax and continued to carefully control the streets below her.

Bubbles flew through her own path, watching her surroundings. She could hear Buttercup shouting, "Where're you? …Reveal yourself and fight me if you have the courage!" She wondered if Buttercup knew that she was in that way alerting the boy and thus making him escape.

She was going to reach another intersection when just in front of her the yellow streak of light appeared for an instant, passing through the crossroad. It happened in the blink of an eye, but it was enough for Bubbles: she reached the intersection and located the boy, then she started to pursue him. To advise her sisters, she shouted, "I found him! Girls, I need your help!"

Blossom and Buttercup immediately changed direction. Buttercup spent a minute to reach Bubbles and join her, but Blossom remained above them. She wanted to have a good overview on the entire situation, in case the suspected ruff managed to lose her sisters.

"You're starting to annoy me! Stop now or I'm not going to be kind when we'll get you!" shouted Buttercup angrily. The yellow streak did not lower its speed. "He's fast, Buttercup, maybe we should try something different…" said Bubbles. "Let me put my hands on him, and I'll show you what we should do _different_!" replied Buttercup. The boy made a sudden turn at an intersection. The girls made the same turn, but when they entered the new street the yellow streak had already disappeared.

"What the…" said Buttercup. The voice of Blossom came from above: "Bubbles, Buttercup, try to search the alleys! He can't have just vanished in a street like that!" The boy was enough smart to hide himself behind a tall building before disappearing, preventing Blossom from seeing where he had hidden in.

The green and the blue puff started to inspect the alleys. Buttercup entered one. "All right, if you surrender, I swear I won't hurt you…maybe," she said while she moved deeper into the alley, controlling possible hiding places.

Suddenly, the boy appeared from behind a rubbish bin and flew away. In the process, the rubbish bin was hit by him and thrown in the air... towards Buttercup. She was too bewildered to react, and the bin eventually fell on her.

With her super-hearing, Bubbles heard the noise coming from the alley where Buttercup had gone. She immediately flew out of her one to go to her sister's aid. The fact was that the boy was escaping and passed in front of the exit of the alley in the exact moment Bubbles left it. They collided head-first, with both of them saying, "OUCH!"

Bubbles scratched her head and tried to figure out what he had bumped into. Just in front of her, the boy was now correctly visible. He was definitely a 'puff' in shape, with the same big eyes the Rowdyruff Boys and the Powerpuff Girls had. He had short hair that had a color similar to Bubbles', only darker, while his clothes were similar to a heavier version of the Rowdyruff Boys' ones. Moreover, it seemed that they were a little ruined because of long use. Not surprisingly, both his eyes and his clothes were yellow in color.

The boy's eyes fell on Bubbles' ones, and he immediately flew away in alarm. He had to stop after a couple of seconds though, as Buttercup was waiting for him. She was half-covered with rubbish, but most of all, she was enraged. "Now, little boy, you have a big problem…" she hissed, ready to attack.

Visibly nervous, the boy watched over himself and eventually screamed in fright. Blossom was above him, blocking his last escaping route. "You have no chance to escape now! I suggest you to surrender, or we'll have to stop you anyway, with or without your permission," she said.

The boy wasn't going to give up yet. He backed towards the ground while the Powerpuff Girls got closer, then, in an extreme attempt to escape, he zoomed right into the building on the side of the street and crashed into it. There was a series of loud noises as well as screams from people inside as he made his way through the building. After some seconds, the noises stopped.

"Did he really do that?" asked Buttercup, wiping away some banana peels from her hair, "Oh man, this is going to make me insane…"

"We can't stop now. Girls, let's follow him!" said Blossom. Bubbles nodded, still feeling some ache in her head from the previous close encounter.

They went into the hole where the boy had burst into and passed through the various offices. There were people inside, surprised and frightened by the sudden event, that watched them while they moved through the destroyed walls.

In the end the girls left the building on the other side. The boy was nowhere in sight. "I'm beginning to get tired of this game..." said Buttercup.

"I think it's just finished, Buttercup!" said Bubbles, "Look! Below us!"

Blossom and Buttercup looked down. In a small pile of debris, the boy lay. It looked like he was knocked out.

The girls approached him cautiously, but as soon as they realized he was really out could, they relaxed. Among the debris, there was a metal box, with a big dent on it. "It looks like he's hit this safe with his head," Blossom said. "That must have been painful…" commented Bubbles. "Wow, this guy's a genius. Now, Blossom, what should we do with this ruff?" asked Buttercup.

"I dunno, Buttercup…" said Blossom. "He actually didn't do anything to harm townspeople…"

"Oh, here she goes…" replied Buttercup sarcastically. She crossed her arms before continuing, "Blossom, he caused all the mess in the city centre and he's just destroyed almost an entire floor of this skyscraper. He may not have hurt anyone, but you can't say he's innocent!"

"You have a point, Buttercup…" said Blossom, "but still, we have to discover exactly why he showed up in Townsville."

"Girls!" called Bubbles, "He's already recovering!" Blossom and Buttercup focused on the boy.

He slowly opened his eyes, and put a hand on his head, letting out an "Ow…"

Then, he remembered where he was, and realized that the girls were right in front of him now.

"Who are you?" asked Blossom. The boy, instead of answering, moved back, but Buttercup reacted quickly: "If you make another step, I'll tear your skin off, understood?" she threatened. The boy stopped, and nervously nodded.

"Now, little boy, can you please tell us _who are you?_ " asked Blossom, repeating the question. There were some seconds of silence before the boy actually answered. He had an accent the girls had never heard before. "I am not an enemy. Please believe me, you scared me and I went away because of that. I…"

"Listen to me!" interrupted Buttercup, "The last guys we saw who looked like you have caused massive destruction in this city, have nearly killed us and are still present somewhere out there, planning who-knows-what kind of stupid action, so you're not in the position to have us saying 'oh, a new friend'…" She was by now only a meter away from him, the fists tightened in a threatening pose.

The girls weren't expecting the boy's next reaction. He let himself fall on the ground and hid his face in his arms. "Please… Don't hurt me… I did not want to…" he said through his arms. His eyes had become wet.

"Now, calm down," said Blossom, "we won't hurt you if you have no bad intentions, okay?" She motioned Buttercup to lighten her behavior, and the brunette reluctantly followed the order. The boy raised his head to face the girls, but he kept his mouth closed. Bubbles asked him, "You aren't American, are you?"

"Yes," he answered, "I come from Europe. City of Ultrapolis. I had few time to learn English, I'm sorry for that, but…"

"Don't worry, that's not a problem," said Blossom, "we can understand you well and in any case there is still Bubbles here. Right, Bubbles?"

Bubbles answered Blossom, but she did so in the boy's birth language. He was stunned as he sat up and started to talk with Bubbles in his own language.

"Bubbles, could you please stop chatting with him?" interrupted Buttercup, "Now, we want to know why you have come here!"

The boy clearly struggled to answer this question, "I… I think I am not able to tell you my story." He put his hand in one of his pockets and picked up a book. The book was dusty and a bit wrecked, but still readable. "Read this, from the twentieth May of this year. You find there how I was born."

"Why do you want us to read this? Can't you just tell us what do you want?" asked Blossom, inquisitively opening the book. It was written in the European language the boy spoke, so she was not able to read it. Still, the various paragraphs had dates as titles, and it overall looked like the book was a diary of some sort.

"I… I was born... thanks to _you..."_ he said. There were traces of emotion in his face as he said this.

"What?" said Buttercup, incredulous, "What are you talking about? We didn't even know you until today!"

"Read the book. You need it or you will never believe me. Please!" he begged.

"All right, all right!" said Blossom, "We will read it, just... don't freak out." The boy nodded and sat down on the ground, waiting. "Now, this is written in his language. Bubbles, you can speak it, but can you read it as well?" she said while handing the book over to her blue-eyed sister.

Bubbles didn't answer. She instead straight opened the first page and happily read out for them, " _Journal of the scientist Professor Bronislav Laurentium._ "


	2. Professor Laurentium's Journal

* * *

_This is intended to be my personal Journal. It contains all the information about my experiments and projects, as well as personal thoughts. It is not compiled every day, but only when I feel the need to do so._

_13_ _th_ _September_

_I sincerely don't know how to start this little book. I'm currently thinking of what I was thinking when I bought it..._ _Perhaps I should introduce my current work. I'm doing researches about a new type of substance that..._

* * *

"Bubbles!" interrupted Buttercup, "What are you doing? He said to start from the twentieth May of this year!"

Bubbles gave her a glance, but before she could answer, Blossom intervened, "She's right, Bubbles. Come on, let's just read what we need to know."

Bubbles made a sigh and dashed through the various pages until she found the one they were looking for. The boy did not react to their exchange of words.

* * *

_20_ _th_ _May, Sunday_

_I have finished my thesis on the white holes that I'm going to show in Amsterdam. I think it will impress my colleagues at the congress… At least, I hope it will. I will leave the book there as I don't want to have distractions during my journey there._

_25_ _th_ _May, Friday_

_The show of my thesis was a success. Many other scientists came to congratulate with me. But all of this was really my last thought during my days in Amsterdam. In fact, the wish I thought of last Sunday has not to be granted... not at all._

_It was 11:30 PM that day and I was doing the last preparations for the trip when my eyes caught sight of a periodical I forgot to read on a table. I had never noticed the front page, which publicized the main article of the magazine: one about the American city of Townsville. I had already heard of that city, but the article was enough interesting to make me bring the little cultural magazine with me._

_It felt like I was hit by a lightning. I'm… I don't know how to explain it. These Powerpuff Girls… If the article states the truth, since their apparition in the city one of the best periods of time for Townsville started, one which is still lasting right now. Well, to be honest, I was already aware of their existence. The case of the American businessman Richard Hardly had reached me, and for a period even Ultrapolis had his own Powerpuff Girls. But they were not comparable to the originals, and eventually collapsed for unknown reasons. At the time, however, I was busy with my work, and didn't really care about the event. Now that I have a period of 'free time', though, I feel the need to find more information about them._

_27_ _th_ _May, Saturday_

_I should thank the one who invented the internet. I was overwhelmed with all the stories and the reports about the events that regarded the Powerpuff Girls. The number of the events is huge, and furthermore, is increasing right now. If I try to think of all the lives they saved and of all the times they protected their city from certain doom, leaving alone the times they actually saved the entire world… It gives me the creeps._

_28_ _th_ _May, Sunday_

_Sleepless night. But for a good reason._

_I have made a decision. I will repeat the experiment of my American colleague, Professor Utonium, and I will create a superhero on the model of the Powerpuff Girls. Ultrapolis is a city that really needs this kind of help right now._

* * *

Bubbles stopped to read for a moment. She watched her sisters, then they all watched the boy. He noticed their look and said, "Please. Continue. You need to know."

"Okay…" said Bubbles. She resumed to read the journal, translating it for Blossom and Buttercup.

 _Then, this Professor Laurentium wanted to… create a twin of us, for a good cause?_ thought Blossom, _this is the first time that I hear something like that. It's weird… Mojo created the Rowdyruff Boys to defeat us, which later returned thanks to Him, and Professor Dick… he had thoughts only for the money. This is the first time someone does the experiment for a good purpose apart from the Professor himself…_ she sighed at the thought _...and us._

* * *

_29_ _th_ _May, Monday_

_The first problem I encountered and had to solve were the 'ingredients'. From the Hardly case, I knew that these heroes are made of a precise series of ingredients. When I tried to search for more information on the internet, however, I didn't find anything useful… The only reference I found to the elements I'm looking for were some commercials for the Powerpuff Girlz X-treme that publicized the fact that they were made with 'Chemical X-treme'… but I think that it was some sort of commercial scam._

_Nevertheless, the history of the case gave me a lesson. I'm going to put great attention during my work, but every scientist knows it is impossible to be 100% sure that an experiment will have a certain result. Therefore, I'm going to calculate the ingredients with the purpose to create only one 'hero'. Still, I have to find what the 'ingredients' are._

_30_ _th_ _May, Tuesday_

_I've just done it. I have called Professor Utonium. I don't know what brought me to do so, but it was my last choice to discover the ingredients. I was expecting him to complain about me disturbing him, but instead he answered calmly and, more important, in the friendliest way you could think of. I discussed with him about generic science for some minutes, just like scientists would have done, and I found quite a good interlocutor._

_Then, I brought the speech on the Powerpuff Girls. It was easier than I thought: Professor Utonium just told me the ingredients when I asked about them. However, I did not inform him of my experiment. I just don't want to make him worried, neither I want to be disturbed while I work. When the experiment will be done, I will call him and tell him everything. I'm sure he will forgive me and comprehend my reasons._

* * *

"What?" said Buttercup, "He called the Professor? Why didn't he tell us about this?"

"Didn't you listen? Professor Laurentium has stated he hadn't informed the Professor of his… experiment, Buttercup. For him, I think it was only something like a scientific discussion," answered Blossom.

Buttercup wasn't totally convinced but remained silent. Bubbles resumed to read out the pages again.

* * *

_1_ _st_ _June, Thursday_

_Finding the sugar and the spice was easy, yesterday. I just had to go to the supermarket like I usually do and add the two elements to my usual shopping list. But today I have realized I forgot to ask Prof. Utonium about what he intended with 'everything nice'. I thought I would figure it out later, but I now realize I can't._

_2_ _nd_ _June, Friday_

_Today I have received an unexpected visit: my young cousin has come to visit me this afternoon. I usually don't spend much time with my relatives, but I guess it is always good doing so when you have the chance to do so. Moreover, her visit has showed me the solution to my problem._

_My cousin is married and already has two little sons despite her young age. While I was talking with her and her husband, they played in the living room of my little house with their toys. I realized in that moment what was 'Everything Nice': everything that was related with children, which is, by definition, nice. At least, most of times. And the toys my nephews were playing with were an example of that. When they left, I thanked them, even if they didn't know why I did so._

_5_ _th_ _June, Monday_

_The appearance of the laboratory is strange, with that little bunch of toys and similar objects left on one of the working tables. I bet that if my colleagues saw me now, they would call the asylum right away._

_When I left to find the third ingredient last Saturday, I realized that probably 'everything nice' was the element that determined the gender of the kid. I decided to go for a male, therefore choosing little-boy-related objects, because of the first example of 'everything nice' I had encountered. Well, to be honest, also because, when I called Prof. Utonium, he told me that his first purpose was to create the 'perfect little girl'._

_I want to see if it is possible to create the 'perfect little boy' as well._

* * *

_This is impossible,_ thought Buttercup, s _ugar, spice and everything nice were only supposed to create girls! Professor told us hundreds of times they were the specific ingredients for the 'perfect little girl'! And now this scientist out of nowhere thinks he can create a boy from them!_

She glanced at the boy, who was listening to Bubbles' speech without watching them. _How can we really be sure he is good and nothing else?_

* * *

_6_ _th_ _June, Tuesday_

_I knew the last ingredient would be the most difficult one to find. Prof. Utonium told me about it, the Chemical X, complaining about the fact that even if he had the chance to study its effects on the Powerpuff Girls, he didn't completely understand his real nature yet. It will be hard to find something similar without its formula, which he did not tell me, but I still have to try._

_13_ _th_ _June, Tuesday_

_After a week of work, I didn't come out with anything. I fear I will have to make another call to Prof. Utonium, and this time I will have to inform him about my project. I hope he will believe my purpose is for the good._

_14_ _th_ _June, Wednesday_

_I was lucky. Perhaps I have found something. I was in my lab, thinking about some last possibilities before calling the creator of the Powerpuff Girls, when I noticed an old, wooden box abandoned on a shelf. Then, I remembered the story of the box, and a realization came to my mind... I knew what was inside that box. I spent years of my life studying it._

_I carefully opened the box, picked up some flasks and put them on my main working table, giving them a quick control to see if they changed with time. The substance was not corrupted by its age. His dark orange color was unforgettable for me, but I discovered only in that moment how it was similar to Chemical X. In fact, the only visible difference was the color itself, as Prof. Utonium told me that the Chemical X is pitch black. Maybe… maybe the Unidentified Y can effectively substitute the Chemical X._

* * *

"You are kidding…" said Buttercup, bewildered. "Unidentified Y? He is saying that this guy wasn't made out of Chemical X?"

"Well, Buttercup, we haven't read if he had decided to really use it yet…" commented Blossom. She was, however, as much surprised as her sister was. Bubbles was surprised as well. _I'd have never imagined this. I've always thought Chemical X was something unique in the world. There is something scary in this story… but the boy, it really looks like he's good… I don't know what to think…_ she thought before resuming to read.

* * *

_15_ _th_ _June, Thursday_

_I ran some tests on the Unidentified Y, this time with the purpose to find chemical similarities with the Chemical X. Not having a sample of Chemical X just here, I ran them without much hope. Even though I got confirmation that the physical behaviour of the substance was the same as described by my American colleague, I didn't find anything reliable that told me it had the same effects of Chemical X as well. I'm really not sure about using it or not. I just don't want my son to suf-_

_-My god… Did I just write 'son'? Maybe this has gone further than I thought…_

_17_ _th_ _June, Saturday_

_I have decided that the time has come. The experiment will take place in three days. I'll do some other tests on the Unidentified Y, but without being totally sure of its effects, I will call Professor Utonium, tell him about everything and ask for help in case of a good response. I can't handle it anymore. This has gone beyond my original purposes._

_19_ _th_ _June, Monday_

_Everything is ready. The pot is waiting just on the other table, and the ingredients are ready to be used, except for the fourth one. I just don't know what to do._

_I am considering the possibility to simply ignore the fourth ingredient. I will not be able to make a superhero… but still, there will be an important result, one that does not concern science. And it will be positive, anyway. I… I have never felt a feeling like this before… I'm a bit old, but perhaps it's the same one upcoming parents feel._

_20_ _th_ _June, Tuesday_

_Experiment N°24, 'Perfect Little Boy'._

_10.00 A.M.: The pot has been prepared with the first three ingredients. I mixed them and decided to boil the result liquid, in order to obtain a better quality solution. The quantity of the ingredients, under my calculations, should create one and only one boy._

_3.00 P.M.: Dead end. The solution is ready, and by now, I don't know what exactly to do. I know that chemical reactions can take time, from seconds to entire days, so I have three solutions: wait for something to happen, add the fourth ingredient or call Utonium. I have to make a decision as fast as I can._

_5.00 P.M._

_*blank pages*_

* * *

There were some seconds of silence before Buttercup and Blossom realized that Bubbles had stopped reading.

"Bubbles, why have you stopped reading?" asked Blossom.

"It seems to finish there," she answered, "look." Blossom and Buttercup watched the pages Bubbles showed them and actually saw the blank space after the last time reference.

Bubbles continued to search in the book for more information in the blank part, while Blossom and Buttercup focused on the boy. He was still sitting, and his face was hidden under his knees.

"Hey," called Buttercup, "hey, you, do you hear me or not?" she repeated impatiently. The boy raised his head and stood up. Another time, they both noticed his eyes had become wet.

"What is it now?" asked Blossom, "I have already told you we aren't going to hurt you if that's not needed. The book seems to stop the moment I can imagine you were created. But why wasn't that written down by Professor Laurentium?"

The boy wiped his eyes, but it was no use as some tears even started to flow out of them. He said, with a visible struggle "Professor Laurentium… My father… He… He is…"

He was interrupted by Bubbles' scream.

Blossom and Buttercup turned in alarm. There was no monster, no Mojo Jojo or other villain, actually nothing harming Bubbles who was hovering in front of them. But she was surprised, and frightened, her hands covering her mouth.

The diary she was carrying had been dropped on the asphalt of the street. Blossom and Buttercup didn't understand at first, but they noticed something strange on the pages of the book, which was still open. There was a liquid which had become dry long time ago on the pages. And it was not water, nor coffee. The dark red color made clear what kind of liquid it was.

The Powerpuff Girls slowly turned towards the boy. Their faces were showing _anger,_ in a way that had been seen few times on them.

"What did you _do_ to him?" asked Blossom coldly.

The boy, realizing what was going on, quickly answered, "No, it is not what you are thinking. The book. There are…"

" _You monster…"_ said Buttercup, "…you killed your own _creator?"_

"No!" said the boy, stunned, "It is not that! It was an accident! An accident!" he was nearly crying now while he talked.

Buttercup suddenly ran to him. She seized him by the neck with just one hand but with all her strength nonetheless.

Blossom and Bubbles approached the two. None of them, not even Bubbles, seemed to be disturbed by Buttercup's action. In fact, they shared the same expression with her.

The boy struggled to breath, but he was still able to speak despite Buttercup's grip on his neck. He didn't try to escape from her grasp, but he instead said, "The book! Read it! Please! It's not that! I would never do that!"

The girls were not listening to him.

Then, they boy shrieked and shouted something in his own language. While Blossom and Buttercup did not react, Bubbles stopped and turned her face from an angered to a shocked one. She immediately said, "Buttercup! Stop it!"

Buttercup turned her head, "What did you say? Have you just told me to let away this…"

"Buttercup, Blossom! Please, stop it, now!" she repeated.

Blossom watched her without emotion, but then something occurred to her. He changed her expression in the exact same way Bubbles did. She immediately exclaimed, "Buttercup, stop!"

"Blossom? What is it with you two? Is this _monster_ controlling your mind?" she turned to the boy and tightened her grasp, "What kind of freak are you, you little…" she shouted, but she was stopped by Blossom who put a hand on her shoulder and forced her to look at her sister's eyes.

"Buttercup, quit this nonsense! Just think about it for a second. What are you going to do?" she asked.

"What I'm going to do? WHAT I'M GOING TO DO!?" she bellowed, "I'M GOING TO DESTROY THIS…" she stopped in mid-speech. Eventually she came to the same realization Bubbles and Blossom had previously come to.

She immediately let the boy away, who hovered away while coughing. He did not escape though, but limited himself to move back to a safe distance. "What the… what were we going to do?" asked Buttercup.

"I don't know, Buttercup," answered Blossom, "we were overcome by our own emotions, I think. That _idea..._ I'm still unsure about what was going on in my mind … Bubbles," she called, "how did you manage to realize it?"

"His words, the ones in his language," said Bubbles, "he said: 'not them, please... don't let _even_ them hate me'."

Blossom and Buttercup watched themselves and turned towards the boy. Buttercup kept her threatening attitude and advised him: "Don't think we're suddenly going to be goody-goody with you now…"

The boy was shuddering, and his eyes were still wet. He nodded nervously and started to babble: "[The book...] ...I mean, the-the book. Please, get it! … I'm-I'm not the monster you're thinking I am! PLEASE!" he begged.

Bubbles picked up the book, and Blossom and Buttercup came closer to her, still all three of them keeping the boy under sight while he hovered down and waited in front of them, his eyes watching the ground.

Bubbles tried her best to ignore the blood stains on the pages. She searched through the dirty pages with closed eyes until Blossom stopped her with a hand. "There," she said, "there's something written down. Bubbles, think can you read it?"

"I'll try…" she said. She opened her eyes and focused only on the letters.

* * *

_For everyone reading these pages… At 100%, I'm already dead. Know a thing: Donnie is not responsible of my death. Some type of rat was in my lab and accidentally hit a sample of the Unidentified Y, which later broke on the side of the pot and let the liquid enter the concoction. There was an explosion, a big one. The blast threw me away… unfortunately, exactly at one of my machines, the one with a few protruding, sharp metal bars. I never would have thought this would happen, I've never worked with explosives that powerful, but here I am, writing while one of the things comes out of my stomach like a perfect spike. I doubt I will be alive when assistance will arrive, and the boy… He is scared._

_I know you are going to blame him. Do NOT do it. Donnie is good deep within, I can sense it… see it in his eyes. The experiment was a success, in a way. I hope my signature will be enough to let you believe these words._

_*signed* Prof. Bronislav Laurentium_

* * *

The girls raised their heads from the journal. Bubbles had teary eyes, and both Blossom and even Buttercup were not too far from crying themselves. All three of them had sad, very sad expressions.

The yellow-eyed boy was watching them, directly in the eyes. He was near to burst out and release all his sorrow, but he managed to keep it in. Donnie knew, deep inside him, that the girls now believed him.


	3. Secrets

There was an entire minute of silence as no one of them had the will to talk. The girls were reflecting upon the information contained in the diary, while the boy apparently thought there was no need to add anything to what was written in the book.

Eventually, Blossom decided to break the ice first. "Donnie…" she called.

The boy looked at her, waiting for her speech. "I… We… We're sorry. We didn't know what happened to you on your birthday. Our last encounters with boys who looked like you were... unpleasant, to say the least. We couldn't know if you were an enemy or not."

Donnie nodded. Buttercup closed to Blossom and whispered in her ear: "Blossom, are you really sure? …I mean, I do trust that diary, but…"

"Yes, Buttercup, I understand why you have doubts. I'm myself not sure what to think about him right now."

"Blossom, Buttercup," said Bubbles, "maybe we should bring him to the Professor... He can confirm Donnie's story and tell us if it's really possible to… create a boy like him."

"Good idea, Bubbles," agreed Blossom. She turned towards Donnie: "Would you please follow us to our home?"

"Yes!" he answered hurriedly. Bubbles tried to smile at him, but the boy's expression did not soften at all.

"Then, let's go," Blossom concluded, and the four of them flied away. The boy did not even try to fly together with the girls: he maintained some distance from them for the entire trip.

The girls didn't talk to each other until they reached their home, too. For the citizen who were still on the streets of the city, it was a bit surprising to see four colored streaks in the sky instead of three.

Professor Utonium was still busy in his lab trying to fix his last invention when he heard the doorbell rang. He stopped his work and went upstairs, knowing the girls had not returned yet.

He opened the door to find the girls in front of him. "Hello, girls! How it had been crimefighting tod-…" he realized there was a fourth kid along with the Powerpuffs.

He made a sudden step back while shouting, "What the HECK?!"

Once he realized that the boy didn't want to annihilate him, he stopped and made a long breath to calm himself down.

"Girls, I'm sorry... but you scared me. Can you please tell me who  _he_ is?" he asked, pointing at Donnie.

"His name is Donnie," informed Bubbles, "and he appears to be a superpowered boy just like us…"

"…and the Rowdyruff Boys," finished Buttercup.

Blossom quickly added, "We don't know if he has good or bad intentions, and… well, he's told us his story, and how he was born. Professor, do you remember a certain scientist called Bronislav Laurentium calling you?"

The Professor was surprised as much as the girls were when they first encountered the boy. He spent some seconds in shock before actually realizing Blossom had asked him something, and he tried to remember if he'd already heard of that name.

"Yes! In fact, I do," he finally said. "I don't remember much about him, it happened months ago, but I remember he was European and…" a realization came to his mind "hold on, do you mean that he…?"

"Yes, at least, that's what's written here," said Bubbles. She showed the small book and passed it to him. The Professor curiously opened the book and looked through the pages while her daughter continued, "I was able to read it out for Blossom and Buttercup."

"Then I don't want to ask you to read it again for me, Bubbles," replied the Professor, "I will just use my computer in the laboratory to translate it later." That said, he closed the book and put it in his lab coat.

"Even so, I'm still curious about knowing about you, Donnie," he said. "Do you understand me?"

Donnie nodded, but before the Professor could speak anymore, he was interrupted by Blossom: "Professor, we have to talk with you, alone. It concerns him."

The Professor was surprised by Blossom's request, but seeing the serious expressions on her and her sisters faces', he thought it was important and said "Ok, let's go to the laboratory then. But what about…"

"I will stay with him, Professor," said Bubbles, predicting his words. Blossom and Buttercup looked at her in surprise, they weren't expecting her offer, but Bubbles immediately reassured them: "Don't worry, let the Professor know about his story. I'll keep an eye on him."

"Fine, then," said Blossom. She, Buttercup and the Professor walked to the lab door, entered the chamber behind and shut it, leaving Bubbles and Donnie alone in the living room.

"Professor, do not ask him about Professor Laurentium, okay?" said Buttercup.

"Uhm, okay, but why?" he asked. Buttercup made a long breath before answering: "He… he's passed away, Professor."

This took Professor Utonium aback. Blossom told him about the creation of Donnie and the incident that occurred that day. The Professor, at first interested by the scientific preparations, was stunned by the story and saddened by it just like the girls were.

"That's a horrible story…" he commented, "poor boy, that was absolutely the worst way to come to the world."

There were some seconds of silence before Buttercup actually asked, "Professor... Is it possible to make a  _boy_ from the 'perfect little  _girl'_  ingredients?"

The Professor thought over the query for a moment before answering. "I've never considered the possibility, Buttercup. Given the examples of 'super-boy creation' we've already seen, it simply never crossed my mind. Still, while these are the 'perfect little girl' ingredients, there is no rule stating they won't create anything else, so I guess that my European colleague made a theory and tried to see if there was something concrete in his idea. To be honest, when I created you, I didn't know what to expect exactly, too, apart from the final result... which eventually ended up being a bit different from what I planned."

He pondered for some additional seconds before continuing, "In case there isn't anything else you have to tell me, I suggest you to go upstairs and talk with Donnie. I understand your concerns, but he doesn't look like your standard villain... maybe by getting to know him a little more you'll clear that out for yourselves."

Blossom and Buttercup couldn't find anything to argue about the Professor's words, so they left the lab for the living room while he remained where he was, thinking about the situation.

They found Bubbles and Donnie talking in the latter's birth language. He appeared to be less sad by now.

They sat down on the living room's armchairs and started to talk.

"So, Donnie, what have you been doing in the past months?" asked Blossom.

He spent some seconds trying to think of the right words, in order to not make Bubbles have to translate his speech.

"After the… incident, there was some public attention on me, but it started to flow away early. I was brought in an…" he missed the right word, so she asked Bubbles to translate it to her sisters. The word was 'orphanage'.

He continued, "I lived there for some time. After the first days, I got used to it and actually started to like it and even make some friends. But then…" he stopped in mid-speech.

"Then?" said Buttercup.

"I… Please, can I talk about it later?" he said. He had strangely begun to sweat.

"Now, for what reason would you…" started to complain Buttercup, but Bubbles interrupted her. "Don't worry, Donnie, of course you can tell us later."

Buttercup grumbled something under her breath, but didn't protest anymore.

"And why have you come here?" said Blossom.

"I first knew of you from the journal. It was the only thing that was left of… of my creator, and I managed to read it after some... some…"

"struggle?" suggested Blossom.

"Yes, struggle. I tried to know more about you. You became some type of… example. I lived with your image in my head, I wanted to be like the Powerpuff Girls. But I could not. And I came here to… to meet you. To find help, and... I don't know how to say it…"

"But could you not be like us?" said Bubbles. She recalled the first days of her life: "Were you… rejected by people in Ultrapolis?"

Donnie waited for some seconds before answering, "Yes… something like that."

Blossom was wondering about his words.  _If he had been brought to an orphanage, then he shouldn't have been blamed of his creator's end. And if we are that famous, people should have greeted him as a superhero. Why has he been rejected by them? There is more to this than what he says…_

She was going to ask for more information when the lab's door was opened. The Professor's head leaned by the edge of the door, saying, "Donnie, do you want to stay with us at dinner? It's always good to talk with something to eat. And don't worry about the cost, you are our guest."

Donnie thought about it and answered, "Uuh… Okay…" He clearly wasn't expecting that kind of offer, and the shadow of a smile was seen on his lips for a second, something that didn't go unnoticed by the three girls. It was the first time they saw him smile since they met him.

While the Professor cooked in the kitchen, the girls and the boy waited on the chairs for the dinner to be prepared. After some protests, Buttercup was forced by her sisters to go upstairs to have a shower, since she was still dirty from the afternoon's incident. When she returned, it was decided it was the girls' turn to tell Donnie about them. They thought he deserved a little bit of insight about them, and they didn't want to remind him of his past.

Donnie was amazed by the girls' history. They told him about their creation, their way of life and some of their adventures. Donnie was astonished by the number of villains the girls had to fight with, and most of all, he was surprised that they actually managed to defeat them all.

"Your worst enemy… is a monkey?" he asked, not believing them completely.

"Do not underestimate him, Donnie," said Blossom, "Mojo is wicked, and can be a real threat sometimes…"

"…he's never lost his desire to conquer the world. He's so evil that we have to deal with him at least once every week!" continued Bubbles.

"Yes, yes, but we always succeed in kicking his butt," concluded Buttercup, grinning.

"I'm… I have no words. You are … amazing," he said, bewildered.

The girls were happy to tell him about their life. He was really interested and he listened until the Professor announced that dinner was ready. He prepared five main courses for them, composed of French fries. The girls licked their lips at the inviting sight.

Something strange, though, happened to Donnie. He was going to pick up his fork when he suddenly grabbed his chest, like he felt some type of pain. Bubbles was the first to notice it and she asked, concerned, "What's up? Are you ok?"

"Yes!" he answered quickly, "I… I just have to… go to the toilet. Where is it?"

"No problem, I will bring you there!" Bubbles said kindly. She and Donnie left the table while Blossom and Buttercup began to eat. She guided him in the house and upstairs, until she pointed at the bathroom, "Here it-…"

"Okay, thank you!" he said, without even letting her finish. He entered and shut the door behind him.

 _Oh, well, seems like he had not the chance to do so for quite a long time,_ she giggled. She was already beginning to return to the kitchen when she heard voices coming from the bathroom.

Curiously, she approached the door and put her ear on it. It wasn't really necessary, as her powered hearing let her listen almost perfectly to what was going on in the other room.

Donnie was talking, but at first Bubbles didn't understand with… until she realized he was alone in the toilet.

"[Go away! Leave me alone! I'm not going to let you win this time!]" Donnie was speaking in his birth language.

After a pause, he spoke again, but in English and with a far different tone, "Oh, come on! You are misunderstanding my purposes. I'm doing what is best for you, my friend."

"[No, you aren't! You aren't my friend!]" Donnie replied, another time in his language. Bubbles had no doubts, he was scared... at least, this voice was.

"Really? It looks like I have to show you a little more of my capabilities…" he said with his other, quieter tone.

"[No! Please, leave me in peace! I won't help you aga-…]" the words suddenly stopped. Bubbles moved away from the door on instict when she heard a loud scream coming from the bathroom. Then, the door trembled as something crashed in the other side and Bubbles heard a sound she knew well, getting farther and farther. The sound of a puff flying away.

She abruptly opened the door, and found herself in a cloud of dust, standing on the floor of half of the bathroom. The other half was gone, and the wall that faced outside had been destroyed. A little, yellow streak of light was visible away in the horizon, moving towards Townsville's skyline.

Of course the event didn't go unnoticed by the other occupants of the house. Blossom and Buttercup had flied to the scene right away, and Professor Utonium joined them after some seconds. All three of them were surprised just like Bubbles.

"Can someone tell me what's going on now?" asked Buttercup.

"There's no time, Buttercup" said Blossom, "I fear that something bad is going to happen. We have to follow him, now!"

Buttercup had nothing to say against it, and Bubbles nodded as well, still thinking of Donnies' words.

They left at once, leaving the Professor in their house to determine the damage. While they were flying away, he shouted at them: "Be careful, girls!"

* * *

The Powerpuff Girls entered Townsville city centre once again in the evening. Bubbles led the way, as she had told her sisters he had seen Donnie flying away, and she was aware of his direction.

However, the boy had already managed to lose them. They moved through the streets until they reached the Town Hall, the most important building in Townsville. Even there, there was no sign of the presence of Donnie. It wasn't very late, so there were still people outside on the roads below them.

"What's wrong with him, now?" muttered Buttercup, "Why would he go away like that?"

"I don't know, Buttercup, I heard him talking, but it was like he talked with…" said Bubbles, but stopped as she saw Blossom fly away without notice.

They both watched her flying fast towards… a public bus that was hanging in the balance just on the edge of a skyscraper!

People in there were all screaming in panic, but Blossom was already on the move. She picked the bus up with little effort and raised it on her head.

Bubbles and Buttercup looked around them and realized that there were similar situations in the square of the Town Hall. Not only busses thrown on deadly positions, but also cars and single persons. Someone had literally spread the citizens all around the place.

Then, a light appeared in the distance, and the wave of an explosion went through the square, along with its loud noise.

"Oh my god… What's happening?" said Bubbles, shocked.

Blossom thought fast about the next course of action. "Bubbles, Buttercup! Go check that explosion and what has caused it! I'm going to join you as soon as I can. Go now!" she shouted while moving towards the ground, preparing to let the bus down and go for another one placed on the Town Hall dome.

The blue and green puffs immediately darted towards the location of the explosion.  _I hope Blossom will take care of these people fast,_ thought Bubbles,  _this is not going to end well…_

In a minute they reached the location of the explosion. Apparently, a gas station had been blown up. There were people screaming all over the place, and the fire had also managed to get into the damaged buildings nearby.

The view was completed by the presence of a boy, the cause of all the mess, hovering above the ruins. The girls were only able to see his back, but his yellow outfit was tell-tale on who he was.

"DONNIE!" shouted Bubbles "What have you done?!"

Donnie turned in a blur, almost instantly, to face them. Something had changed in him. His eyes were bloodshot, and his irises had lost their yellow colour in favour of a fiery red. His hair had changed as well, and now rather than being straight it was darkened and spiky. His expression was one of pure fury and anger.

 _Oh, no…_ thought Bubbles,  _what happened to him?_

"That's it!" shouted Buttercup, "This time, you aren't going to get away with it!"

"Buttercup, wait!" said Bubbles, but Buttercup, already in battle mode, didn't hear her. She dashed forward, heading for Donnie.

Right before she reached him, he dodged her by moving sideward. Buttercup, however, was expecting something like this, thanks to her experience of combat with the Rowdyruff Boys. She had already prepared a punch that was going to hit Donnie right in the chest.

He, however, didn't try to avoid the hit. He, instead, grabbed her arm and, with surprising strength, blocked her punch. Buttercup was taken aback, and Donnie took advantage of her indecision. He started to rotate her from her arm like a sling until he let go of her, throwing her away. The momentum was too much for the girl to rebel, and Buttercup was slammed on the wall of a building hard.

"Buttercup!" shouted Bubbles. She decided to attack Donnie in order to distract him and give Buttercup some time to recover. Her tactic, however, was different. She moved around him at a safe distance, trying to hit him with her eyebeams.

Donnie avoided the first eyebeams, but at one point he stopped right when a blast was coming towards him. Bubbles didn't understand at first why he'd stopped himself like that.

He put his hands in front of himself and moved them fast up-and-down. When the blast reached him, it didn't hit him, but instead it was stopped by an invisible wall. The blast exploded, but it didn't harm the boy in any way.

Donnie didn't wait for Bubbles to do the next move, but he immediately darted towards her, fists ready. The Powerpuff Girl waited for him and dodged his attack. She expected him to do a sudden turn in order to attack her just like Buttercup tried to do, but he instead went straight, like he was escaping. Bubbles flied behind, pursuing him in the hope to hit him from behind.

She was already beginning to charge her eyebeams when Donnie made a sudden stop and prepared to kick the incoming girl. She changed strategy and prepared her fists.

Their fists and kicks collided at high speed, emitting a sonic wave that made Townsville's buildings shake and broke some of the windows. Then, the two of them started to combat hand-to-hand.

Donnie tried various times to block her attacks and grab her, but Bubbles always managed to avoid his attempts. "Donnie, what are you doing? Why are you…?" said Bubbles, but she was interrupted by one of his punches. She dodged it by the side and made a counter-attack with her own punch, but he blocked it. They continued to fight this way for a good minute, no one of them beginning to prevail over the other.

Then, a war cry was heard as Buttercup, after recovering from her previous hit, flied towards Donnie. The move the boy did was surprising: he left Bubbles and headed for Buttercup. Before hitting her, he did another time the technique with his hands, in front of himself. It was only possible to see a light vibration in the air that showed the presence of a force field.

Buttercup, however, was too enraged to notice it. She collided with the force field and all her momentum crushed her on the invisible wall, making her cry for pain.

Bubbles was worried, and she shot another time her eyebeams at Donnie, in order to at least distract him from Buttercup. The boy moved upwards in a yellow streak, and Bubbles realized too late her error. The blast went through the space where the force field used to be and stroke Buttercup in the head. The green Powerpuff Girl was thrown away and, out cold, fell.

 _Oh no, Buttercup, I'm sorry!_  thought Bubbles. She turned towards Donnie and yelled, "Donnie! What's going on in your mind? Please, stop doing this! I know this is not really you!"

"SHUT UP!" bellowed Donnie. He charged her, too fast for Bubbles to escape, and they began to fight each other again. This time it was hard for Bubbles to resist to his fury, as it seemed he had become faster and tougher.

After some seconds, Bubbles made an error and punched the air. Donnie instantly grabbed her and pulled her near him. He kneed her hard on the stomach, leaving her breathless, then he kicked her head, sending her towards the ground. She was slammed on the ground, but somehow she managed to maintain her eyes open and wasn't knocked out.

He watched Donnie as he approached her, the fire in his eyes, a fist ready to strike and finish her. She was really frightened, but her expression did not have effects on Donnie. He was going to punch her when a red beam stroke him dead-center, knocking him away from Bubbles.

Bubbles made a sigh of relief when she saw the worried face of Blossom over her. The pink Powerpuff Girl helped her sister to stand up. "Bubbles, I'm sorry I couldn't come earlier, there were too much people… Are you all right?" she asked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine…" she said, even though the pain in her stomach was indeed disturbing, let alone the headache. Donnie was tough just as much as them, that was for sure.

Eventually even Buttercup showed up. Bubbles was sorry for the error she made "Buttercup, I'm sorry, I didn't know that…"

"We'll talk about it later, Bubbles," replied Buttercup, not turning her gaze away from Donnie, "now we have to take care of this guy…"

The boy had already recovered from Blossom's hit, and was preparing to go for another attack. "Brace yourselves, he's returning!" said Blossom as she noticed their enemy maneuver.

But Donnie did not attack the girls. Suddenly, he fell on his knees and grabbed his own neck, like he was being chocked by someone. He shrieked, then he started to cough repeatedly.

"Good lord, what's going on now?" said Blossom, astonished. Donnie coughed some more times, then he raised his head. His eyes were no longer red and had returned to be normal, with yellow irises. His hair had also changed another time: it was now straight and dark blonde, even though a bit messy.

When he recognized the girls, tears began to stream out of his eyes. "[No…]" he said, then he started to babble in both English and his birth language.

"I did not want to… It was not… Girls… [Oh my god, not again no, not now, it hasn't really happened…]"

He screamed loudly, in a frightened and sorrowful tone, and continued to scream as he flew away as fast as he could from the girls and the fight location, without a definite destination.

The girls were open-mouthed, too surprised to even think of something to do. The first one to recover was Buttercup, who said angrily "Dang! We should have followed him! Who knows what he's going to do now!"

She realized her sisters were still in trance: "Blossom, Bubbles, hello? There's a guy who can destroy the entire city that we have to look for right now!"

"But, Buttercup…" began to say Bubbles, but Buttercup interrupted her, "Look, Bubbles, I know what you're thinking of, but as long as he's free he can be dangerous. What if he gets mad like that another time?"

"Buttercup's right, Bubbles," said Blossom, "we have at least to find him and secure him, then we'll think of what to do."

Bubbles knew that her sisters were right. She remembered him standing upon her, ready to do the final blow. Even though she was sure he wasn't in control, he shuddered at the thought of what could have happened if Blossom hadn't stopped him. She nodded to her sisters.

The Powerpuff Girls flied over Townsville, looking for their new enemy.


	4. Alone

Donnie was alone in the forest near Townsville. He was sitting behind a tree, his back resting on a tree log, and he struggled to calm himself down while watching the ground. Yet, his efforts were proving futile since he had not stopped to weep since his departure.

It had been easy for him to avoid the girls and hide himself in the forest without being noticed. After all, he'd spent the few months of his life escaping from everyone…

The first time it had happened was when he was at the orphanage… then, it began to happen regularly, transforming him into a pitiless machine of destruction, far different from the superhero his creator had believed to have made. Finding help was out of the question… for everyone else, he was a monster: in Ultrapolis as much as in the rest of Europe.

He came to Townsville for this very reason. He'd hoped that the girls and their dad could find a solution for him, a cure that would wipe the 'illness' out from his body and free him from his curse. But he didn't ask them for help because of his fright, and before he could warn them the fury had possessed him once again.

Donnie hated himself. He was sure that by then the girls thought of him as an enemy, a monster that needed to be destroyed. He didn't blame them – their purpose in life was to defend their city. He blamed  _himself_  for being so stupid. If he'd asked them, perhaps they would at least have known of his real situation… but he didn't.

Every time he managed to recover control of himself, Donnie remembered everything he had done while he was filled with rage. The memories had always been a terrible experience for him, and this time it was even worse than usual. He remembered himself fighting them, using techniques he didn't even know he could use.

He remembered standing over Bubbles, ready to strike her… He knew too well what he would have done if it wasn't for Blossom's arrival. New tears streamed over his face at the thought.

He didn't know what to do now, apart from crying. He wasn't alone, though… someone lurked in the surroundings, someone who wasn't happy with his presence.

Donnie heard noises of bushes moving: he raised his head and he was surprised to see a beastly being in front of him.

It had been hard for the girls to describe who Fuzzy Lumpkins was like hours before, and Donnie didn't simply have the time to focus and try to recognize him. Fuzzy was enraged, irritated by the sight of a puff in his territory. He remembered too well not only all the times the Powerpuff Girls had fought and defeated him but also the one time the Rowdyruff Boys had tied him up and had taken over his property.

"YOU BRAT!" he shouted wrathfully, "GET OFF 'MA PROPERTY NOW!"

He withdrew his shotgun and tried to shoot the yellow-eyed boy in the face. But Donnie was already flying away before he could even fire the first projectile. Still, the furious beast continued to shoot in the trees around himself while shouting, "AND DO NOT RETURN!"

Donnie misunderstood Fuzzy Lumpkins's behavior.  _Another one…. Another one that hates me..._ he thought while flying away, the tears leaving his cheeks flowed through the yellow streak he left behind himself.

… _why… why do I deserve all of this… Why? WHY!?_

* * *

The doorbell rang at the Utonium household. It was very late, and the Professor was starting to get worried. He was considering whether to go check out where the girls were by himself or not when he heard the sound. He moved quickly to the upper level to greet who he expected to be the girls.

And indeed, Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup were there, wearing sad faces. They had spent the previous two hours searching the city, but they had no luck and found no sign of the boy. With the complete lack of clues, it looked like he had vanished out of thin air.

"Girls, I was starting to get worried. What happened?" asked the Professor.

They told him about the recent events. Donnie's change of behavior, what he had done in the city and their fight. The Professor, at first, couldn't fully believe them.

"I'm… surprised. I'd never have thought he was capable of doing this."

"So are we, Professor," said Bubbles. "Do you think he was really in control the whole time?"

"I don't know, honey…" answered the Professor. "There are a lot of explanations for Donnie's… shift. From an uncontrolled explosion of anger to… mental insanity." The girls shuddered at the thought.

He continued to speak: "Well, seems like my last discovery is going to be useful, after all. Follow me, girls, I have to show you something." He went into the laboratory downstairs. The girls followed him reluctantly, as they thought it was a waste of time. What 'discovery' could be  _that_  important?

When they entered the laboratory, the Professor was at a working table, preparing something. Before they could hover above him to take a peek, he moved away to let them see what he was fiddling with.

Blossom scratched her eyes, astonished, while Bubbles and Buttercup simply remained with open mouths at the sight.

On the table there was a lab flask, containing an orange, dense liquid. The paper that was stuck on the glass let no doubts about its contents:  _Unidentified Y_.

"You gotta be kidding me…" said Buttercup. "Professor, why didn't you…"

"I wasn't sure of it, Buttercup," said Professor Utonium, predicting her words. "I didn't remember if I still had the flask here, so while you were away I looked for it in my laboratory until I found the sample. Thankfully I found some notes in the box where the flask was stored, so I've been able to refresh my memory as well.

"Like Chemical X, this substance is a mystery to modern science. The Unidentified was discovered in 1947 inside a German science laboratory abandoned during the Second World War, and for the first few years European governments tried to discover its potential uses, with scarce results. Eventually, when the Cold War become the main issue of the time, all researches were stopped, and the compound was forgotten.

"Six years ago, however, a new project of studies was started by a group of scientists that wanted to solve the mystery behind the Unidentified Y once and for all. They managed to gain the financial support of a few countries and sent samples of the substance to various scientists all around Europe, in the hope that someone would manage to solve the riddle. While scientists in the old continent were preferred because of the history of the Unidentified itself, I was chosen as well. I guess they thought that with my experience with Chemical X I had more chances of discovering something about the compound, but after a month of studies with no results I decided to abandon the project and focus on my main researches, including the Chemical X itself."

The girls examined the flask while the Professor told them about the story of the compound.  _Was this liquid actually able to create Donnie?_ thought Blossom,  _And if yes, how many substances like Chemical X and Unidentified Y exist? I don't know whether this is an exciting or frightening discovery…_

"Professor…" called Buttercup. "Yes, Buttercup?"

"I was thinking, if this thing is like Chemical X, then is it able to provide different superpowers to… you know, ours?"

"If you asked me, I wouldn't even be able to say why Chemical X provided  _you_  with superpowers. I suppose it is possible, they are two different compounds after all."

"We saw him using some type of force field to defend himself," informed Buttercup. "I remember Butch using something similar to that, but his absorbed energy attacks only. The new guy's one was like a brick wall…"

"I didn't see him using eyebeams, too… Perhaps he cannot use them?" said Bubbles.

"That is indeed a possibility, Bubbles," said the Professor. "Anyhow, I think we can use the Unidentified Y to our advantage, girls. We know it's similar to Chemical X, and I also know how to make Antidote X out of Chemical X. I can try a similar method to create something from our sample there, hopefully something that will deactivate Donnie's superpowers just like the Antidote X does on yours."

"Something like 'Antidote Y'?" said Blossom.

"Yes, Blossom. This will grant you the chance to stop him and make him harmless without the need to hurt him."

The Professor nearly fell at the hug Bubbles gave him. "You're a genius, Professor! Thank you!" she said.

"Okay, that's great and all, but if for some reason it doesn't work, let's go the hard way," said Buttercup. "We have to stop him, in a way or another…"

Bubbles glared at her sister, but deep down she knew she was right. Blossom approved her sister's words: "Yes, Buttercup, yes. We may as well leave and…"

"You aren't going anywhere, Blossom," said the Professor. It was a statement, not a question.

Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup were surprised. "But Professor…" Blossom began.

"Look at yourselves, girls. You're tired and you need to rest. Perhaps even he is tired, or in the best case, he has left the city and won't be an immediate problem for Townsville. Besides, tomorrow you still have to go to school, and-…"

They protested for two minutes before the Professor managed to convince them to go to bed.

He had been right when he said they were tired, but even so the girls didn't fall asleep right after lying down on the bed. Thoughts about Donnie came through their minds.

 _You were lucky this night,_ thought Buttercup,  _but next time we'll fight, I'll be more than ready… and it won't be that easy for you, Donnie… You will not escape twice._

 _I wonder where he is now,_ thought Blossom,  _perhaps he's sleeping somewhere outside, or maybe he's forced a family to leave their home and… no, no, no, he can't do that… I think. Oh, this is all too weird, I don't understand…_

 _The Professor is right, he's tired just like us and he's probably left the town,_ thought Bubbles,  _but, if he's really gone away… we can't just stay there. We should go and find him and help him because wherever he is he can… No, he wouldn't do that, I know it. The_ _ **one**_ _he becomes can harm… people… Donnie, where are you now?_

In the end, the tiredness prevailed on them and they fell asleep.

* * *

Donnie was standing in an alley in the city centre during the night. He was grateful no one had seen him, and by now was looking for something to create an improvised bed to sleep on. He was an expert in doing so, and he only needed a few seconds before he located a cardboard box that was perfect for the task.

He flied over the box and opened it: it was empty. He put it on the side and lay down inside it. The box was small, but he was small too and he wasn't going to be picky.

He gave a glance to his clothes. After the fight, they were even more ruined than before, and by then he felt cold. It wasn't really that big of a problem: his puff-powered skin protected him from cold and hot temperatures alike… but it was still annoying. Donnie, however, was used to resist to even colder temperatures in Europe, a fact that explained why his clothes were heavier than the girls' ones, and he just ignored the feeling.

He was going to close his eyes when he heard footsteps in the surroundings. He went out of the box at once, looking for the cause of the noise. He immediately recognized, in front of himself, a humanoid shape hidden in the darkness.

Donnie would have bolted away to escape, but the figure spoke before he could leave. "Easy there, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to exchange a few words with you and have a little talk, you and me…"

Donnie's curiosity won him, and he didn't fly away. "Who are you?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter, little kid. I know what happened to you, and I happen to be also the one that knows how to help you."

Donnie was bewildered. "You think… You can help me?"

"Of course I can! I'm the most intelligent being in all of Townsville, and…" he stopped his speech and passed a hand over his face. "…ugh, forget about it. You would please follow me, so that I can show you how you will be able to accomplish your goal?"

Donnie had waited for a moment like this for months, but something told him that this guy was hiding something. "I don't know. You are good? Why do you want to help me?" he asked suspiciously.

"Would you like to…" the voice of the figure looked like it struggled to say these words "…be  _friends_  once again with the Powerpuff Girls? I'm going to give you another chance. Just follow me, walk behind me, and move when I move."

 _He knows the Powerpuff Girls?_  thought Donnie,  _then he is surely good!_

"Ok!" he replied, "I am behind you!"

The two of them exited the alley and went through the streets of the city during the night. The figure appeared to be smaller than the boy thought at first, Donnie was only a bit shorter than him. He wore a long raincoat as well as a big, tall hat that prevented Donnie from looking at his face. He followed him nonetheless, as he wanted to know if there was a possibility to cure his 'illness'.

After ten minutes of walking, they entered Townsville's park. Donnie was wondering where the stranger lived when he realized they were heading for the observatory in the centre of the park. The trees were starting to lose the first, colored leaves, the first signs of the approaching fall.

"Do you live there?" he asked, "That's a strange building…"

The figure suddenly turned and corrected him with annoyance: "Not  _strange!_ My living place is not  _strange!_ Define it as 'modern' or 'technologically advanced' or 'superior' and you would be right. Define it as  _'strange'_  and you will be in error!"

"Okay, I'm sorry, I don't know that many words in English…" apologized Donnie. It was a bit hard for him to understand the speech of this guy. The figure turned himself without answering and simply resumed to walk.

After reaching the slope of the volcano, they climbed up the stairs until they arrived in front of the observatory's main door. The figure took of a glove and put his hand, his  _hairy_  hand, on a scanner in the wall. The scanner made some sounds and the door automatically opened.

The two of them entered the observatory. It was a bit dark inside, so the stranger immediately told Donnie what to do: "Wait there until I can reach the switches that will let me turn the lights on, in order to let you see."

Donnie stopped to move and waited. He found the current situation a bit scary, being in a room so dark and all, but he stayed calm until the darkness was replaced with light.

He was inside the observatory's main hall. The dome of the building was visible above him, and the walls were far, as he happened to be in the exact centre of the building. The chamber was empty, apart from the scope itself.

"Ahem, excuse me…" said Donnie, not knowing what to do. The stranger who brought him there was nowhere in sight.

Suddenly, in less than a second, a cage appeared and entrapped Donnie. It was so fast that he let a little scream of surprise out. He immediately realized that the cage wasn't normal… The bars were in fact made of electricity, or energy, or both of them, he couldn't really tell which one. The bright light it emitted made it hard for him to keep his eyes open.

"What is it?" he shouted in fear. "What is it?!" he repeated.

"I will explain to you 'what is it', little boy!" said a voice coming from all directions. Donnie raised his head and watched a specific side of the observatory. The section was occupied by a good number of rooms that constituted the storehouse of the building. On the top of the complex there was a small control room with a long glass wall facing the center of the observatory.

Donnie saw the  _figure_  behind the glass, speaking with a microphone. He no longer wore the raincoat and the hat: with a little effort from his eyes Donnie managed to pinpoint his face, and he was stunned to recognize him as an ape.

Then, he remembered how the girls had described their arch-nemesis to him.

"You are…" said Donnie. He was genuinely  _scared._

"Mmh, You already know of me? Good, you learn fast, brat. Keep my name in mind, as it will be me, Mojo Jojo, that will destroy the Powerpuff Girls and conquer the world once and for all!

"I have been trying to destroy those accursed Powerpuff Girls for years, trying every plan I could think of… and failing every time! But tomorrow will be the last day of my struggles, as I've created the ultimate plan for the destruction of the Powerpuff Girls! For I, Mojo Jojo, have watched you in your tour through the city, have spied you in the Utonium household, and have, in the end, seen you fighting my nemeses and nearly defeating them single-handedly!

"Yes, you happen to own a great power, little brat, and my plan is simple: use you against them! I will just lure them into my observatory and help you while you fight them! With the support of my robots, you will cause the downfall of the Powerpuff Girls and they will no more be a problem!"

"NO!" Donnie shouted. He tried to fly away, but he was repulsed by the cage bars with an electroshock, throwing him away with a cry of pain. He recovered quickly before saying, "I'm not going to help you fight my friends!"

"I have some doubts about them being still your 'friends', little brat. But it doesn't matter, as I'm not going to use you, Donnie Laurentium, against the Powerpuff Girls, as you are. No, that wouldn't work… I will use your  _madness!"_

Donnie had no words as it dawned on him. If the fury possessed him again, he would become a weapon in Mojo's hands, no matter he wanted it or not.

"You will not…" babbled Donnie, even if he knew there was no way to counter Mojo's argument. "I'm not  _mad_. I'm not  _mad…"_

"Wrong! The right answer is: yes, you are  _mad!"_  said Mojo Jojo in a triumphant tone. "Now I suggest you to rest, little brat, as tomorrow will be a hard day for you!"

He cackled wickedly as he left the control room above and exited from Donnie's sight. "I'm not  _mad…_  [I'm not  _mad_ … I'm not  _mad_ …]" continued to repeat Donnie as tears appeared under his eyes. Suddenly, he shouted in anger and began to punch hard the floor under him in an extreme attempt to escape from the cage. He didn't know that there was no way he'd be able to punch his way out, as the floor had been strengthened by Mojo Jojo with a combination of common steel and fibers of the only material that was able to stop the force of a puff: Duranium.

Nevertheless, Donnie continued to punch the floor until the pain in his fists became too much to bear. He let himself fall on the floor and watched his hands, now red with blood.

He ignored the sight and stared at the energy bars that formed the cage above him. He started to weep copiously.

 _Mad. Mojo Jojo's right, I'm mad, and I can't do anything about it. I'm doomed to remain like this forever… And I'm going to help this monkey defeat the girls… It's all my fault… My fault…_ he thought as his weeps became more frequent.

Donnie's anguish kept him awake for an entire hour. Only after he became so tired that he eventually fell asleep on the floor, despite the noise and the light emitted by the electrical cage.


	5. Trap

"Now, kids, we're starting an history lesson! Who can tell us anything about the antique Romans?" asked Miss Keane.

Surprisingly, there were many hands raised by the kids in Pokey Oaks Kindergarten. Miss Keane smiled and randomly decided to let one of the kids talk. Yet, there was another thing that was even more surprising and that Miss Keane didn't notice: Blossom wasn't among the various children that seemed to know something about the Romans.

She didn't even listen to the lucky boy who started to tell the class about his trip in Rome and describe the greatness of the Coliseum. Neither did Bubbles or Buttercup, too. The three girls distractedly moved their gazes to various objects around the classroom: Miss Keane, the boy who was speaking, the hotline, the windows, the hotline…

"I wonder where Donnie is right now…" whispered Bubbles.

"I hope for him he's long since gone, or he'll have to face me…" replied Buttercup, tightening her fists.

Blossom was going to tell her sisters to stay silent when the hotline rang. The girls were so fast that when the boy stopped to speak, they were already in front of the phone. As most of times, Blossom was the one to answer the call.

"Yes, Mayor? There's a giant robot trying to destroy the Town Hall?" This wasn't what Blossom had expected to hear.

"Are you su-…" through the phone came the noise of an explosion. "Uh, okay, Mayor, we're on it!"

After putting down the red-colored receiver, Blossom gestured to her sister to follow her, and they replied positively. She then turned towards their teacher. "Problems downtown, Miss Keane!"

"Okay, girls, you are free to go. Good luck!" she said happily. As the girls crashed through the roof, zooming away towards Townsville centre, she sighed. "Oh dear, I need to think of a way to solve the roof problem…"

While they were flying, the girls tried to guess who they were going against in the upcoming fight. "I bet it's Mojo again… He never learns the lesson!" said Bubbles.

"Then, we'll give him another!" replied Buttercup.

Blossom didn't answer right away. Her face remained thoughtful for a few seconds before she finally said: "Maybe… maybe he's really left…"

They maintained silence for a few seconds until they caught sight of the Town Hall. "Okay, we'll think about him later. Let's stop that robot!"

As they approached the Town Hall, they realized that the building was damaged… but not  _that_  much. When they saw the robot, they were even more surprised by its appearance. It was Mojo's handwork as the design showed, but it was way too small compared to most of the war robots made by the chimpanzee. Mojo was nowhere in sight, too, as the small dome over the robot was opaque and it looked all like it was remote-controlled.

Still, the robot fired some missiles at the Town Hall. "I'll stop the missiles, you go for the machine! Quick!" shouted Blossom.

She darted towards the missiles and started to fire her eyebeams at them. The missiles were not only a few but also slow in speed, and it was easy for Blossom to blow them up. Meanwhile, Bubbles and Buttercup went for the robot. The machine ignored them and just armed another stock of missiles for the building, but before it could shoot the two girls hit it and passed right through it. The armor was either poor or not even definable as such. The robot exploded in a noisy but  _little_  explosion.

The Powerpuff Girls met up after the incredibly fast fight. "That was a joke!" said Buttercup, "What's up with Mojo?"

"I don't know, Buttercup, this is indeed strange…" said Blossom. "Mojo Jojo isn't the one to waste material like that. We're paying him a visit in any case, but be careful, alright?"

Bubbles nodded while Buttercup simply said, "Alright…"

* * *

"WAKE UP!"

Donnie suddenly woke up, hovering away from the ground and punching the air. He remembered fast where he was and how he ended up there.

"Good, you are awake. Now behold as I, Mojo Jojo, put my plan in motion!" said the electronic voice of Mojo. He was still behind the glass wall in the control room, far away from Donnie.

 _Plan? Does he have a plan yet?_ thought Donnie. He couldn't meditate about the situation anymore as something crashed through the roof of the observatory. Three streaks of light came into the large room and landed on the floor.

"Not so f-…" began Blossom, but she stopped as she and her sisters recognized Donnie, still closed in the energy cage.

"Donnie!?" said Buttercup, bewildered. "What the heck are you doing here?"

Before he could respond, the cage where Donnie was closed in was shut down. Mojo Jojo intervened: "I will answer your question, you who go by the name of Buttercup. This little kid is the key to your annihilation! And I am going to use it against you!"

"Girls! Get away!" shouted Donnie. He was frightened and didn't want the girls to fight him a second time, even though he didn't know how Mojo Jojo was going to unleash his other self.

The girls had the same thought, but before one of them could speak, Donnie screamed in pain unexpectedly and with no apparent reason. He fell on his knees, breathing heavily.

"What the…!?" said Blossom, but Donnie screamed again. He fell supine on the ground, trembling and crying. They heard him moan desperately,  _"Go away…"_

When an electricity bolt appeared around him for an instant, they realized what was happening.

"Mojo!" shouted Bubbles in anger, "What are you doing to him? STOP IT!"

"I'm afraid I won't be able to satisfy your request. I confess I did not know the correct method to follow, but my powerful intellect," he coughed and casually continued, " _and a little advice_  led me to the solution! I applied a small but powerful electroshock device on him while he was sleeping… And now I, Mojo Jojo, am going to continue the treatment until he becomes what I want him to become!"

Inside the control room, Mojo Jojo pressed a button on the control panel. Another electricity bolt came out of Donnie's body and hit the floor near him as he screamed for the nth time.

"Blossom! What are we supposed to do now?" asked Bubbles with urgency. Blossom thought for a moment before saying, "Let's go get Mojo first, he's the one controlling the device on Donnie!"

They would have taken off on the spot if it wasn't for Donnie, who screamed for the fourth time. He didn't simply lie on the ground, though: he flied up and let out another loud cry… Something more like a war cry rather than a shriek of pain or fright. Even Mojo was a bit stunned by the shout.

Donnie stayed quiet for some long seconds. He had his eyes closed, and just hovered in the air in the center of the observatory. In the end, he opened his eyelids.

To the girls' horror, it revealed two blood-shot eyes with red irises instead of Donnie's usual yellow ones. The hair, now darker and spiky, acted as a last confirmation of the transformation.

"Rats… he's freaked out again," said Buttercup nervously. Donnie immediately charged at them without further explanations.

"WHATCH OUT!" shouted Blossom. Bubbles and Buttercup flied away, but Blossom kept her position. The furious boy did not change his flying pattern and headed for the pink puff. Bubbles and Buttercup fired their eyebeams at Donnie from opposite directions. The boy didn't slow himself down, and moved his hands quickly. The eyebeams were deflected by two, different force fields Donnie had created on both his sides. When Blossom realized the strategy didn't work, she flied upwards to escape. Donnie pursued her.

"Bubbles!" called Buttercup, "I'm going after him! Try to understand where we're heading and precede us! We gotta stop him and battle him together if we wanna defeat him!"

Bubbles nodded, and the two of them zapped in two different directions.  _I'm arriving Bloss,_ thought Buttercup while flying,  _just let me reach that fool and I'll kick his butt!_

Bubbles was watching Blossom and Donnie, trying to figure out where they were going, when he heard sounds of clanking metal. She turned around and shrieked when she saw some purple blasts coming towards her. She barely managed to dodge them.

"What the… Mojo?" she said. There were some turrets on the floor aiming at her.

"Exactly!" said Mojo Jojo through the microphone, his voice echoing in the large room. "As I'm sure that combining the force of the mad kid with the superior firepower of my hideout will result in your definitive defeat!"

While Mojo Jojo was talking, Donnie whirled around his body, changing his attention from Blossom to Buttercup. He continued to fly forward, keeping his momentum, and watched Buttercup with his furious eyes. He charged a yellow energy ball, it was more like an oval rather than a sphere, and threw it at her.

"Is that all you can do?" taunted Buttercup. She easily avoided the energy attack. But she didn't expect what happened afterwards: the 'sphere' didn't just miss her, but exploded in the exact moment it was on Buttercup's side. Buttercup was thrown away by the blast and she was slammed into the observatory's wall.

"Perfect!" uttered Mojo Jojo in triumph. "The final blow will take care of her for good!" He pressed a series of buttons on the control panel, and the observatory's floor was suddenly full of active laser turrets ready to strike Buttercup.

Buttercup, however, was not the one to be stunned so easily. She had already recovered when the auto-weapons shot red beams and purple blasts at her. After avoiding the attacks, it was a joke for her to destroy the lasers and turrets using both eyebeams and kicks. "Curses…" whispered Mojo Jojo.

When Donnie had attacked Buttercup, Blossom had turned around as well to check was happening, and she had decided to take advantage of Donnie's distraction. She went towards him and took him aback, punching him hard on his back. Donnie gritted his teeth and was going to retreat when Bubbles arrived to block his escape route. Donnie found himself between the two Powerpuff Girls, and before he could do anything, he was overwhelmed by a series of punches and kicks. Blossom finished the beatdown with a strong kick that sent him on the floor, where he crashed loudly.

Bubbles knew that a hit like that wouldn't have hurt Donnie that much, but she was still worried. "Blossom, I don't want to hurt him… he's not himself! There must be some way we can help him out…"

"I know, Bubbles," said Blossom, "but I cannot think of anything... As long as he's like that, we can't do anything but fight him and hope he returns normal soon. Let's just try to knock him out."

Buttercup joined them after getting rid of the turrets, but before she could say anything the angry voice of Mojo Jojo was heard, "CURSE YOU POWERPUFF GIRLS! You leave me no choice but to resort to  _extreme measures!"_

Within the control room, he pressed another series of buttons, and in some seconds the girls heard something moving behind them. They whirled their heads and gasped as they saw a huge group of robots ready to battle. They appeared to be deadlier than the bait one they destroyed earlier, but still weaker than the most powerful robots Mojo used to build. Even so, they were a  _lot_  and looked dangerous enough.

Blossom looked the other way and saw Donnie hovering on the opposite side of the observatory. He had already recovered and was by now watching them with a gaze full of hatred, tightening his fists. She would have sworn she had heard him growling.

The girls put themselves in a triangle-like position, exactly in the middle between the robots and Donnie. Mojo Jojo was confident now. "Powerpuff Girls! This will be your last fight, as I know you cannot withstand at the same time him _and_  my powerful robots!"

"We'll see about that, jerkface!" shouted Buttercup as to answer him.

Mojo Jojo answered angrily at her insult, but they ignored him and talked with each other. "Okay, girls," began Blossom, "we know that Donnie can be kept under control by two of us. Buttercup, do you think you can take on those robots by yourself?"

"I think? I  _bet_  I'll break all of those metal-heads before you realize it!" answered Buttercup.

Blossom smiled to her sister's audacity for a moment before turning towards Bubbles. "Listen, we'll have to…" but before she could finish her speech, Donnie dashed towards them with a loud cry:  _"I'LL KILL YOU!"_

"Look out!" shouted Blossom. She and Bubbles flied away, while Buttercup darted towards the robots. Mojo had already issued the attack order: a swarm of missiles had already been fired from the metal army. Buttercup immediately shot her eyebeams at the incoming missiles, trying to destroy the majority of them.

Bubbles and Blossom were ready to fight Donnie, but he ignored them and continued his flight. It took them a second to realize that he was going for Buttercup.

"Buttercup!" they both shouted, trying to alert her. But Donnie was too fast, and he reached the brunette puff before she could even think that something was going to happen. Donnie grabbed her from the neck with both hands and threw her with extreme strength at the floor. Buttercup collided with the ground just in time for the missiles that were previously fired by the Mojo-bots to start exploding over her. A dense dust began to form as the missiles continue to move into Buttercup's landing zone and detonate.

"Yes! Yes!" bellowed Mojo Jojo victoriously. "One is gone, to get rid of the other two…"

But Donnie ignored Mojo Jojo's speech. He darted towards the dusty cloud at high speed in the exact moment the last missile exploded.

Bubbles and Blossom immediately zoomed behind him in an attempt to intercept him: "DONNIE! STOP THIS MADNESS!" shouted Bubbles, trying to get his attention. But the boy looked like he had not heard her. Blossom fired her eyebeams at him, but he simply created another force field behind him and the beam did nothing to slow him down. Thus, he entered the cloud.

Blossom and Bubbles were very worried, but they were surprised to see an enraged Buttercup coming out of the cloud, storming Donnie with a continuous series of punches in the stomach. "You thought you could beat me?! TAKE THIS!" she shouted as he kicked him hard on the head. Donnie moved back, then he yelled a cry of fury and began to engage with her in a furious battle.

"Curse that stubborn green girl…" said Mojo Jojo, upset by the fact he hadn't actually managed to score a kill. He pushed a lever on the control panel, and he watched as his robots began to move. Some of them walked and armed new missiles, while others activated jet-packs on their backs and modified their metallic hands into sharp, claw-like weapons. All of them headed for the four kids.

Blossom watched the army of robots moving.  _They're still a bit far,_ she thought,  _we have at least one minute before they reach us… we can do this._

"Bubbles!" she said quickly, "Let's help Buttercup, we'll deal with those robots later!"

"Got it!" agreed Bubbles. They moved towards Buttercup, who was having a hard time keeping Donnie at bay.

Donnie became aware of the two girls arriving as he heard the sound of their flight. He tried to make a fast retreat, but she didn't expect Buttercup to grab his legs before he could even move. "Where do you think you're going? We've just started!" said Buttercup, grinning.

Blossom arrived first, and sucker punched Donnie at high speed, knocking him in the air. Then it was Bubbles turn, who kicked him with a loud "Yyyaaaaa!" sending him right into the only object present in the room apart from the robots: the scope. He disappeared into the structure which collapsed over him, glass, metal, and all.

"Great hit, Bubbles!" greeted Buttercup. Bubbles put her hands over her mouth when she realized how hard he had hit him. Even if she couldn't really blame herself… it had not been easy for her to see him actively trying to kill her sister, after all.

"Girls, the robots!" shouted Blossom. The two of them turned around and faced the army of robots. Blossom started to use her eyebeams against the missiles and the robots which were launching them, stopping their attacks and annihilating scores of metal in the process. Buttercup fought against some of the hand-to-hand combat robots, easily dodging their attempts to catch her and destroying many without effort. Bubbles made a long breath, then she unleashed a high-pitched sonic scream that made the domes over a good number of the robots shatter in hundreds of pieces.

The Mojo-bots had not been exactly designed to fight three Powerpuff Girls at the same time without any help, and in a single minute no one of them was left unharmed.

"Curse those stupid girls…" whispered Mojo, intelligently cutting off the link with the microphone. Bubbles' previous sonic scream had also broken the window of the room.

"I'll return, but for now I, Mojo Jojo, have to make a strategic retreat…" he walked tiptoeing towards the exit door of the control room. He watched his back, "They aren't arriving. That'll let me, Mojo Jojo, escape unstopped."

He looked to the exit and gasped in surprise as he saw Buttercup in front of him, blocking his way out. "Goin' somewhere, Mojo?" she said mockingly.

Thirty seconds later, Mojo Jojo was on the ground, the brain half-visible under the cracked helmet, knocked out as usual. Buttercup high-fived Blossom as they celebrated: "Yeah!"

Bubbles was not in the mood to party with her sisters yet. She was watching outwards the control room, looking at the remains of the scope of the observatory. She was going to ask her sisters about Donnie when the boy himself jumped out of the debris, moving upwards, and crashed into the roof.

Blossom and Buttercup were already on Bubbles' sides. "We can't lose him twice! Move it!" said Blossom. The three of them flied fast and went through the roof, making a third hole in the observatory's upper wall.

* * *

The Powerpuff Girls exited in the air above the observatory. They quickly checked their surroundings, but there was no yellow streak in sight.

"How in the world can he escape that fast?" muttered Buttercup.

"I dunno, Buttercup," answered Blossom. "We must be careful, he might still be around to-…" Blossom wasn't able to finish the sentence.

A huge explosion detonated under her with a bright flash of a mysterious light-blue light. Blossom was hit dead-on by the blast and she was sent flying away, knocked out. Bubbles and Buttercup were hit as well, stunned by the blast but not as hard as their pink-eyed sister.

Before anyone of them could recover, Donnie appeared from nowhere and immediately charged at a still dazed Buttercup. He grabbed her by the neck with one hand and immediately began to punch her hard on the face with the other one, again and again, and he didn't stop, not even for a second.

As soon as Bubbles recovered she was terrified to see Donnie punching her sister without mercy. She shouted in anger as she shifted into hardcore mode: "LEAVE HER ALONE!" she yelled before darting towards him, faster than sound.

Donnie stopped to punch Buttercup, who had been definitely knocked out by then, when he heard Bubbles' cry of anger. He kicked the unconscious puff away, sending her into the observatory, then he turned around to face Bubbles.

Instead of moving, he created another force field in front of himself. Bubbles was too mad to notice: the force fields used by Donnie were little more than barely visible blur disturbances in the air. Thus, she impacted fist-first with the invisible wall. Her speed was so high that her arms were literally  _squashed,_  and she screamed in pain as her entire body impacted on the wall over her own arms, which ended up moving into an unnatural angle.

Donnie quickly made the wall disappear and kicked Bubbles in the chest, sending her towards the ground. She went through some trees, each of them broken in half, before she eventually reached the ground.

Only in that moment, Blossom managed to open her eyes. She stood up on the ground, battle-ready, only to see her blonde sister falling down.  _Oh my god, Bubbles!_

She hovered in the air and moved towards the zone where she had seen Bubbles falling in when Donnie put himself between her and her destination. Blossom watched the other part of the park, trying to locate Buttercup.  _Where are you, Buttercup, where I need you? Oh, no…_

Suddenly, Blossom stopped to search and looked directly at Donnie, in the eyes. "You…" she began, but the emotion going through her was so strong she couldn't continue. She was mad… as if,  _very mad._  Donnie stared at her, with similar, angry eyes. He had no idea know how much Blossom could became dangerous when she saw her sisters getting hurt. Princess Morebucks had come to know of that at a great price.

They continued to exchange hostile glares between themselves for some seconds, until Donnie began charging another one of his 'energy grenades'. He spent more time to prepare it than the previous ones, though, and the energy ball wasn't yellow: it was light-blue. In addition, the charge process proceeded with almost zerosound. It was barely audible for Blossom powered-hearing.

In any case, she did not react at his action and waited. The boy eventually threw the grenade at her. Blossom did nothing at first and the grenade continued to fly towards her for some seconds without any noise at all, then she fired her eyebeams at the flying energy 'sphere'. The grenade exploded in mid-air in a light blue, and this time hearable, explosion.

Donnie bellowed, it was more like a roar rather than a normal human shout, and he went for Blossom. The pink-eyed girl dashed towards him, the eyes cramped in a determined and angry expression.

Blossom shot her eyebeams at Donnie before they could reach each other. Donnie was quick and created with his hands a defensive force field in front of him. But it was exactly what Blossom wanted him to do.

Her eyebeams struck the defensive wall without damaging it, but Blossom, fastening her speed, modified her pattern and passed right over Donnie's force field instead of slamming herself into it. She then turned herself and fired her eyebeams again at Donnie, striking his back. Donnie had not expected this move and was hit dead-center by Blossom's attack. Yet, the strike did nothing but making him madder: he halted his flight and then charged at her.

They began to fight hand-to-hand. They tried to hit the other fighter with all they had, but they abilities seemed to be equal at first. After a minute of intense combat, the first one to make an error was Donnie. The boy punched the air instead of Blossom's head and lost his balance. The Powerpuff Girl seized the opportunity and kneed him on the chest, knocking the wind out of him. She punched his head and finally elbowed him hard on his back, sending him towards the ground. However, Blossom didn't wait for him to reach the earth, and she headed for him with the purpose to not letting him have a single second of rest.

But Donnie was tougher than she thought, despite the hard hits he had received, and while he was still falling, he recovered control of himself. He saw Blossom over him, preparing to strike him before he could crash on the ground, and made a sudden decision. He moved quickly his hands as a force field appeared above him, protecting his head. He raised his knees and thrusted his legs downwards, propelling himself into the opposite direction, heading for Blossom.

Unfortunately, Blossom wasn't prepared for this attack. She tried to slow herself down, but they were too fast, and Donnie slammed himself on her, hitting her head with his one. The force field protected Donnie, but that wasn't the case for Blossom. The hit was too much even for her, and she was immediately knocked out.

* * *

Blossom opened her eyes. She was lying on the grass of the park. It was soft, and for a moment, he forgot about what had happened until then… Then, a dark shape hid the sun. Blossom focused and gasped to see Donnie over her. But the raged boy didn't let her speak. He blocked her arms with his legs, then she entrapped her neck in a death grip with his hands.

The Powerpuff Girl tried to rebel, but the boy's strength was too much for her, while her attempts to move her arms didn't achieve anything. She tried to move her legs as well, but they couldn't do anything as Donnie was right over her chest. She even tried to move her head, scattering to gain some air, but Donnie's grasp was simply impossible to break.

She began to suffocate and to lose energy. Her eyes looked at Donnie's face. Normally, villains and monsters would cackle and mock the Powerpuff Girls when they were confident they had beaten them: they loved to bask in victory and enjoyed the helplessness of their defeated enemies.

This wasn't true for Donnie. His face was a mask of anger… no trace of happiness or satisfaction in it. Only his merciless glare.

 _My god, this is the end,_ thought Blossom while her body continued to weaken. She used her last scraps of energy to maintain her eyes open, though her sight had already become blurry.

Suddenly, something wet was splashed over her body. Blossom would have sworn it was water, but she heard, far away according to her ears, a gasp of surprise, followed by a scream of pain. She suddenly awoke and returned to the world of living, wheezing and panting heavily.

She was soaked with a grey, opaque liquid, she didn't need a minute to realize what that was.  _Antidote Y,_ she thought.

Professor Utonium had given them the single sample he could prepare in the morning, and at the time it had been was decided that Bubbles would have be the one to keep the phial.  _Then, where's Bubbles?_

Instead of Bubbles, Buttercup grabbed her shoulders and forced Blossom to look at her face. "Blossom? Are you okay? Blossom, say something!" she said worriedly.

Blossom continued to wheeze instead of talking, but she nodded to calm down her sister. Possibly, the red-haired girl was more worried than her. Buttercup's face was bloody, so much that some drops of the red liquid were scattered on her dress. Buttercup, however, didn't feel any pain, or at least she looked like she ignored it, because she didn't seem to notice the state of her face.

Blossom watched her surroundings and located Donnie. He was, like her, wet with the grey liquid, and the compound seemed to have had its effects. He was lying on the ground, shuddering, the face turned towards the other side.

Bubbles was nowhere in sight. "B-... Butterc-…" she coughed as she tried to speak. "Buttercup. Where is-..." she coughed again, "Where is Bubbles?" She had imagined it was Buttercup that had used the Antidote Y on Donnie, but wasn't Bubbles the one that kept the phial?

"I took the liquid from her, she is still out cold. I decided to take the liquid to stop that  _thing_  before he could do more harm than needed, but when I picked up the Antidote I heard fight sounds. When I arrived here I saw that…  _moster_ trying to kill you. I… I'm sorry, Bloss, I had no time to check if Bubbles was okay…"

"It's okay, Buttercup, you did well…" said Blossom, "…but now…  _*cough*_  …we have to go looking for her and…"

"I'm okay, Blossom," said Bubbles' voice. Both Buttercup and Blossom turned to see Bubbles hovering behind them. She didn't have wounds as serious as Buttercup's ones, but she had bruises all over her body. Moreover, her arms were left hanging to her sides, like she didn't want them to touch her body. Bubbles' sisters didn't fail to see how she gritted her teeth wherever the arm did a movement a little more sudden than needed.

They remained silent for some moments, then they looked at Donnie. He was limping away in a desperate attempt of escape.

"You ain't going anywhere!" shouted Buttercup. She ran at him and kicked him in the leg. Donnie screamed in pain, making the girls know he was completely powerless by now.

"Buttercup, easy!" said Bubbles, but her request did nothing but annoy her sister. She pointed a hand at her face and said, "How could you even think we should be  _easy_  at him? He nearly killed us ALL!"

Bubbles watched the ground, as she had nothing to say against that. The boy was once again shuddering on the ground, and he seized his own leg to sooth it. His eyes were no more blood-shot and his irises had returned to their normal colors; the same could be said for his hair. Buttercup raised a fist, ready to strike him again.

"Enough, Buttercup!" said Blossom. Buttercup glared at her sister. "That head-hit must've damaged your brain, red."

"Buttercup, he's no more a threat."

"HE IS! For god's sake, he tried to choke you to death!"

The argue was stopped as Donnie screamed, suddenly hovering in the air.  _Wait, how can he fly? We splashed the Antidote Y on him, he has no powers!_ thought Blossom, bewildered. Bubbles and Buttercup were surprised as well, and they prepared themselves for anything. The boy put himself in a ball-like position in the air.

Then, he started to talk.

"Oh Donnie, Donnie, Donnie… You never listen, don't you?"

"[Leave… me… alone…]"

"Oh, poor boy! Don't you see how strong you are when I free your inner anger? Being an inch from destroying the Powerpuff Girls! That's a dream!"

"That's a  _nightmare!_  I don't want to… [destroy them…] they… they're my friends…"

"Your friends? You have an interesting idea of 'friend', Donnie… just as poor Mojo said. Does a friend look for you like a policeman looks for a criminal? I don't think so…"

"They didn't know about it… argh!  _Go away!"_

"Oh, Donnie, you're so frightened. It's nothing, really. I'm trying to help you! I'm your real friend here… Open yourself to me, cease to resist, and you'll become the most powerful being in the world! Just…"

"STOP! I don't want to hear your lies anymore! Go away! GO AWAY!"

The last phrase was shouted and was followed by a shriek. It looked like something moved in the air around him as he stretched his arms and legs. Then, he fell down and hit the ground below.

The Powerpuff Girls were too astonished to say anything. After a minute, they walked and approached warily the boy lying on the ground. His eyes were half-opened, in a frightening gaze.

"He is… is he…  _gone?"_  asked Buttercup, open-mouthed. Tears formed around Bubbles' eyes at the sight, while Blossom bit her lip and she maintained control of herself. She went near Donnie and checked his vitals. He was breathing, and is heart was still batting.

"No, Buttercup, he's alive… I think. I don't know what's happened to him, it's like he's sleeping…" she said.

"Then, close his eyes! They're giving me the creeps…" said Buttercup in a nervous voice.

Blossom made a long breath and closed Donnie's eyes. Now, it was really like he was sleeping. Having a nightmare, judging by his expression.

"We should bring him to a hospital! To the Professor! Anyone! He needs help!" babbled Bubbles.

"Bubbles, he's a  _monster!_ What if he freaks out like that again?" reminded Buttercup. "We may not have the Antidote needed to save our butts next time!"

"He's not a  _monster!_ He just… he needs help! We can help him, we only have to… I dunno, but we can't just leave him there!"

"Of course! We have to  _get rid of him!"_

"ENOUGH!" shouted Blossom. Bubbles and Buttercup silenced as their sister glared at them. Blossom thought for some seconds, then she said: "Let's bring him to the Professor. He will surely know what's the best course of actions… either way. Any questions?"

Buttercup mumbled something that the pink puff wasn't able to understand. Afterwards, both her and Bubbles nodded.

Blossom gently lifted Donnie from the ground, holding him like a mother with a little scared kid. Then, the Powerpuff Girls flied up in the sky, heading for their home.


	6. Mind

Donnie abruptly woke up. He found himself sweating, lying on the ground. The boy watched his surroundings, trying to see where he was, but all he could see was darkness.

Then, as the seconds passed, the darkness started to disappear. The place was… unknown. He was in the middle of an enormous plain, without trees or rocks or anything similar. The ground wasn't normal terrain, either. Its color was strange… pale, like it was dead. On the other side, the sky looked creepy as well: there were clouds moving above him and he would have said that a storm was coming.

Donnie began to get frightened.  _Where I am?,_ he thought,  _Where are the girls? What happened?_.

Donnie continued to watch the picturesque view until he noticed the presence of a figure. He gasped as he saw who he was. He scratched his eyes, not believing what he had just seen. But he did no mistake.

In front of him, there was… Donnie. It was exactly himself, apart from some, menacing things: the darkened hair, and the red eyes. It was himself when he was mad.

Donnie made a step back. "[Who… who are you?]" he asked in his own language.

The boy made a step towards him, with a quiet… but evil face. He answered in English: "Who I am? I am  _you_ , can't you see? Precisely, I am the  _rage_  hidden inside you personified. I found it disturbing that you always tried to hold me inside… Now it's time for me to get free, with or without your approval…"

Donnie suddenly felt a new sensation growing inside him. The scared face he wore changed into a determined and angry one. He stopped to go back and stared at his other self. "You… You are the cause! You caused all my problems! I… I'm not going to let you harm anyone else!"

"Oh, little, stupid, boy" said the boy with a wicked smile. Donnie didn't remember himself doing such a smile, even during his freak-outs. "You and I are the same thing! Don't you realize that you are fighting yourself? You cannot win! You should join me, instead, and…"

"NEVER!" Donnie shouted "I won't let you win, I'll give my  _life_  for it! You ARE NOT ME!".

"So, is that your answer? Very well, we'll see who's going to DIE!" yelled the other Donnie.

The two of them cried loudly as they darted towards themselves. Donnie prepared for the upcoming fight. Before that moment, he never fought anyone without being mad, he had only used his powers to escape. He didn't understand why he was so deadly when he got mad: he basically had no experience. But by now, he didn't care. All he wanted to do was to stop that evil version of himself before he could hurt the girls and anyone else more.  _At all costs!,_ he thought right before reaching his enemy.

Their firsts collided and a huge sonic wave was emitted by their location. The wave went through the landscape, moving dust on the grey earth and making the clouds twirl in weird directions.

* * *

Donnie's body froze and he greeted his teeth. Even so, he didn't move of a centimeter. He was well bound to a laboratory table with Duranium chains, made by the professor the days before in case of extreme need. He wouldn't have been able to escape if he had wanted. But he stayed silent, still sleeping with an annoyed expression. There was a little pillow under his head and a thin sheet below him, both of them not belonging to the lab.

The Professor was on his side. He was examining some data labels on his computer as a machine located above the table was scanning Donnie with a bright light. It wasn't the first test the scientist was doing on the boy. The device had been specifically designed for test over puffs' bodies. At first he'd wondered if the scanner would have worked on a not-Chemical-X based puff, but eventually it seemed to do its job.

As the last scanning ended, Professor Utonium sighed and turned his head to face the Powerpuff Girls. They were eager to know what he had discovered.

"Girls…." he said, pondering his words "I haven't found anything interesting. Donnie has nothing wrong in his body."

The girls didn't expect this answer. "But Professsor…" began Bubbles.

"Sweetie, I'm sorry but all I can see there is a little kid having a nightmare. There is no sign of illnesses in his body that are visible in my scanner…"

The boy froze another time, letting out a low gasp. He was hurt just like the girls were, and his upper shirt was almost completely gone. Even Buttercup found it hard to watch him in such a state. The green Powerpuff Girl had a bandage over her face that hid a good part of her wounded skin.

"…until the illness we're talking about is not physical…" he continued.

"But he cannot be really mad! There's something wrong with his situation! I mean, did you ever see a crazy one trying to stop his own craziness?" said Bubbles, desperately. She also wore bandages over her arms.

"Medicine is like science, Bubbles: we will never be able to say we discovered everything."

Bubbles stayed silent, watching him with wet eyes. The Professor thought of something to say in that awkward moment: "Look, we don't know what is his problem, but this does not mean he's lost. The tragedy he experienced during his first minutes of life is a sufficient cause for a neurosis… but it really looks like he is fighting something, whatever he is dreaming right now… and that's not typical at all."

"Professor…" said Blossom. The Professor turned to her "Do you personally think he's mad?"

The Professor had hoped no one of the girls asked him that question. A minute passed before he said "I don't know, Blossom. I don't know…"

Bubbles went to him and hugged him. As the Professor cuddled her on the hair, Bubbles, trying to contain tears of sadness, watched the boy, which was continuing to move and twitch, still held by the chains on the table. "There must be something we can do… We can't just wait while he's suffering like this…"

Blossom didn't know what to say. She was no longer wearing her red hair-bow, which was lost during the previous fight. Her gaze was no longer focused on Donnie: she couldn't concentrate while she watched him.  _What can we do?,_ she thought,  _There must be a way to solve this problem… How can we help him defend himself from something we can't even see? It's impossible! I really don't know…_

Buttercup was feeling the same way as Blossom. Her anger had passed away long time ago, and by now she was watching him with a sad face. At the nth sudden twitch, she thought,  _That face…_   _It's really like he's fighting someone. What kind of darn dream is he… Wait. Dream?_

In a second, she remembered. She didn't know if that would work, but he felt the urge to ask. "Professor?"

"Yes, Buttercup?" said the Professor, still passing his hand over Bubbles' head, who didn't seem to hear.

"Did you say he's dreaming?". "Yes, of course. At least, it seems he's dreaming, and if he is, it's not a good dream."

"Then, I was wondering…" she said, unconfidently "… the machine we used … the one we used to help the Mayor … if it was able to …"

"Buttercup, you're a GENIUS!" yelled Bubbles as she left the Professor grasp and rushed over her sister, nearly making both of them fall on the floor.

"Bubbles, what's wrong with you?" complained Buttercup, angrily "I only want to stop the  _thing_ this guy hides when he's quiet, nothing more…". Bubbles smiled, knowing her sister was only trying to act as the tough one, and that actually she was as worried as her.

"Buttercup, you've just had a great idea! If my calculations are correct, and Donnie is really dreaming by now, then it could work" approved the Professor.

Blossom had a worried face: "But Professor, that hadn't worked well in the end … had it?"

"Don't let me remember that, Blossom" said Buttercup "I couldn't sleep for at least an entire week!"

"That was a different case, Blossom. The Mayor had a nightmare related to you, so our help ended with causing the nightmare itself. Donnie has never seen you with his own eyes until yesterday, and I doubt his current condition has a similar cause as the Mayor's one. In fact, I'd be more worried of you… You see, sleeping using my machine and sleeping normally are two different things. And I can't imagine what kind of hazards you would encounter inside Donnie's mind…"

"But that's just a dream, isn't it?" said Buttercup.

"Yes, but artificially forced and inside a suspected ill mind. In shorts, it can be dangerous."

Buttercup was surprised. She looked at her sisters, which were astonished as well.

"Girls, I must ask you. Do you really want to help him?"

Bubbles was the first one to answer: "Yes! We are the Powerpuff Girls, we  _have_  to help who needs our aid!"

Blossom continued: "You're right, Bubbles. We have to at least try to help Donnie and at the same time stop his other self."

 _I dunno if it was a good idea to say that,_ thought Buttercup. She watched the boy, who now wore a painful face, and decided for the best. "All right, it's OK for me."

The Professor was going to tell them what was needed to be done, when Donnie said something. The girls rushed over him, but he was still sleeping.

"Did he just say something?" said Buttercup.

"It appears like that, but I couldn't catch a single word, he spoke in his language…" said Blossom.

"I could, Blossom" added Bubbles. Blossom turned to her: her face was definitively worried. "He said 'I'm not going to let you win' ... "

"Then, if we want to help him, we'll have to hurry up, girls!" said Professor Utonium " Bubbles, look after him; Blossom, Buttercup, help me look for the components of the dream machine in the lab. I hope we'll be enough fast…"

Donnie continued to sleep, doing sudden moves and speaking in his sleep, as Bubbles controlled him and the other girls and the Professor began preparing the apparatus.

* * *

Donnie recovered in the air after having been thrown away by a kick. His evil twin tried right away to attack him again, but the yellow-eyed boy dodged the punch and kneed the red-eyed one on the side. Evil Donnie shouted in anger and began covering him with a tempest of kicks. Donnie tried to raise a force field to defend himself, but he was too slow and was overwhelmed by Evil Donnie's attack. He ended with a uppercut that stunned him, then he caught him by the legs and began to whirl the boy like a sling just like he did before with Buttercup. He then left him away, throwing him to the ground.

Donnie landed on the hard ground, but he managed to protect himself with his hands. He stood up and stared at the boy above him.  _I can't beat him,_ he thought,  _he's too strong… and skilled. Where the heck did he learned to fight that way?._

Evil Donnie charged a yellow energy grenade and threw it at him. The boy avoided the bomb and decided to try to get away. Evil Donnie began pursuing him in the exact moment he moved. "You cannot escape! Surrender or DIE!" he shouted.

 _I'll never be able to stop him,_ he thought as he gained speed,  _he's surely going to prevail, obtain control of me and start to destroy everything he can see… I… I can't stop him. I'm sorry, this is too much for me. Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup… I'm sorry…_

A huge explosion detonated over him. Evil Donnie had thrown another energy grenade, of the blue and silent type, and Donnie had not seen it arrive. It was a perfect score and Donnie was sent towards the ground again.

But this time his evil self didn't let him to land. Evil Donnie quickly flied below him and stopped his fall with a strong punch on his back. Donnie screamed in pain, and it was a miracle that his backbone didn't break.

Evil Donnie grabbed him and, keeping Donnie in front of himself, he dashed towards the ground. He slammed the boy, using all his weigh over him, on the earth. He then hovered away and landed on his side.

Donnie was no more able to stand up. He felt too much pain, even for a superhero like him. He stared in horror at Evil Donnie, and he tried to crawl back. The monster smirked and stopped his attempt by blocking one of his legs with his foot.

 _This is the end…_ thought Donnie. He was really scared now. "Right!" said the other boy with a wicked smile. Donnie was bewildered to see him reading his mind, as the boy continued: "This is really the end for you, and a new beginning for me. If you were able to live, you would thank me after this, trust me. But that doesn't matter…"

The look of the landscape changed. The sky became red as the clouds darkened and became faster in their moves, while the earth became pitch black.

Suddenly, Evil Donnie's eyes became bloodshot, so much that some red liquid began flowing away from his eyes. His face turned from the evil one to the raged one, and he blocked Donnie just like he did with Blossom before. He tried to choke him with his hands.

Donnie did not even try to resist to his evil self's titanic strength. He knew it was useless. But after some, terrible seconds, Evil Donnie was stroke by a sudden, red blast and was repelled from him.

Donnie sat up and panted to regain his breath. He raised his head to see who had saved his life…

The Powerpuff Girls were standing in front of him, in perfect physical condition. Donnie thought he went nuts. Judging from the light in her eyes, Donnie could imagine that the one firing the eyebeams at Evil Donnie was Blossom.

"Donnie, stay back" she said "From there, we're dealing with him".

"Girls? How could you…" he babbled, open-mouthed

"We don't happen by now to have enough time to talk, ok? Let us take care of that  _monster_  and we'll explain you later."

Donnie nodded, but he wanted still to help them. "I can still fight… He's strong… I can…" he tried to say.

"You seem to be a bit tired, kid" said Buttercup "Just rest, the three of us together will kick tha' fool's butt in no time!"

"Don't worry, Donnie, we can handle it!" reassured Bubbles.

Donnie couldn't help but smile.  _I don't know how they arrived there, but maybe… maybe not all is lost…_

The Powerpuff Girls faced Donnie's other self. Evil Donnie was furious and yelled "YOU DARE ME?! Then, I'll defeat you like I  _did_  before!". He charged at them with a war cry.

The girls flew away in three different directions. Evil Donnie pursued Bubbles this time and began charging an energy grenade, but Bubbles suddenly turned and fired her eyebeams at him. Donnie avoided the blasts, but was taken aback as Blossom and Buttercup attacked him hand-to-hand from his sides. They were too fast to escape from them and Evil Donnie used his arms to create two force fields. The two girls hit the invisible wall, but in the exact moment Evil Donnie was busy with the fields, Bubbles arrived from his front. The boy had no chance to block her attack, and was hit dead-center by her punch in the head, stunning him a bit. The force fields disappeared and the Powerpuff Girls continued to hit him with all types of short range attacks. Evil Donnie was overwhelmed by the three girls and couldn't do anything to rebel.

The girls finished him with a forceful kick of all three of them at the same time, then they fired their eyebeams at him, scoring a direct hit. The raged boy swore at them right before being hit, then he fell towards the ground, unconscious.

"And do not try to annoy us anymore!" shouted Buttercup, as Blossom cleaned her hands and Bubbles celebrated their victory.

They were a bit far from Donnie by now, but the yellow puff still smiled.  _I can't believe it, they defeated him …_

But the girls had not defeated the real cause of Donnie's illness yet. Suddenly, the body of Evil Donnie hovered in the air. The girls saw him and stopped to party immediately. They braced themselves as the body hovered in the air, ready for everything. Suddenly, the boy's eyes opened. They were no more red in color, but were glowing of a weird, dark red light.

The appearance of Evil Donnie changed. His skin became more and more red, his arms and legs lengthened, and his clothes transformed from his yellow ones to a weirder red outfit.

Evil Donnie's eyes became less similar to a puff's ones and more similar to the ones of a demon. Acute ears began growing at the sides of his head as a wicked smile appeared on his face.

Donnie had no idea what was going on. But the girls did too well know what was that transformation standing for.

" _HIM!"_  they shouted.

"Powerpuff Girls!" said Him's demonic, angry voice through Evil Donnie's mouth, "You always happen to ruin my plans even when they don't regard you!"

"Then, it was  _you_ who made Donnie behave like that!" stated Blossom.

"Of course, my dear!" said Him, with his feminine tone "After all, how could I stay indifferent to such a tragedy? I felt so sympathetic for Donnie's loss… Professor Laurentium was so close to conclude his greatest experiment, and…"

Him was stopped by Buttercup. The green puff had a terrifying idea coming to her head: "You… You have…" she said, not believing her realization.

Him seemed to read her thought "Oh, what are you thinking of, Buttercup? I would never do such a hideous thing… It was only a terrible incident… well, I had freed one of the lab rats of the Professor, but who could know that animal would cause such a mess? I was so sad to see those adorable animals caged in like that! You should understand me, especially you, Bubbles!" he laughed as he saw Bubbles shuddering at her name.

Donnie, despite the pain, hovered in the air. He moved towards the girls.

"Donnie, what are you…" demanded Blossom, but Donnie ignored her and continued to move. Evil Donnie smirked at his sight.

He couldn't believe that. The being who had caused all his suffer until that moment, his freak outs, his sorrow… was the assassin of his father. He tightened his fists.

"You…  _You killed him…_ " he said, a step from bursting out.

"Come on, Donnie, don't be so mad at me! It was only an accident, wasn't it?" said Him as he materialized in his common appearance behind Evil Donnie, who vanished in a dark cloud "I only wanted to make a bit more interesting your creation. I'd have never thought that the most dangerous of all Bronislav's machines was just behind him when…"

"YOU MONSTER!" Donnie cried "[I'LL TORE YOUR HEAD OFF!]". He charged at him fists ready, ignoring the pain in his body.

Him smiled at Donnie's behavior. The demon waited for him to arrive and vanished in a crimson cloud just before Donnie hit him. He looked around, trying to locate him, as Him's voice continued to speak.

"..and it's real that Mojo Jojo had a little advice… The little note he found in his hideout this morning was created by me… But Donnie, Donnie, Donnie… who cares? You are so young, even compared to those  _Powerpuff Girls,_ and weak. When I was able to help you, you became nearly the toughest being in the world! My experience with the accursed girls gave me the knowledge to power up you... For what kind of reason would you refuse my offer?"

Donnie suddenly whirled his head to find Him right behind him. He tried to punch him, but Him easily dodged his attack and grabbed his leg with one of his claws. He grinned as he threw him away. "Why are you fighting me?, he said "You have no hope to beat me, just like you had before with your  _better_ self. And…" Him was stroke dead-center by an eyebeam.

"Leave him alone, meanie!" cried out Bubbles. Him turned with an angered face at the Powerpuff Girls. He bellowed, in his louder tone "Powerpuff Girls! I do not tolerate to be interrupted while I speak! Here, I'M THE ONE WHO HAS THE POWER!".

Him moved his claws, pointing at the girls, and said aloud a mysterious word. Suddenly, black tentacles appeared and dashed towards the girls from the black earth, which was by now more liquid and less solid. The tentacles were too fast for the girls to evade, and the black things trapped them instantly in their grasp. Only their head was visible by now as the tentacles held them in the air.

"I can't move…" said Buttercup.

"These things are too hard!" cried Bubbles.

"Just keep trying to break free!" ordered Blossom.

Donnie was watching them from a distance. Suddenly, Him's head materialized at the side of his one. In his feminine tone, he uttered "You see? Poor girls… They don't understand that they're going to meet their doom in this place… Your  _mind_ , little Donnie. It has been sooo easy, to take it over, and the girls can't do anything to fight me in such a place! There is only an obstacle separating me from controlling it entirely. You."

Donnie punched behind himself, but Him was already gone. The demon spoke from an unknown location: "If you really want to fight me, there could be some… unforeseen consequences for your soul, Donnie. I suggest you to just surrender… If you want to stay alive."

Donnie cried loudly at the advice: "I'm not going to let you control me! I'm not going to let you LIVE!". His feeling were a mix of anger and sorrow. He showed a furious expression as well as tears streaming over his face.

Him's laugh echoed in the dreamlike place. "Ohh, I love it, Donnie, when you get that angry… But you forgot a little thing…" he shouted the last words " _You_  will be the one that won't LIVE ANYMORE!"

Donnie heard something behind him. He whirled only to see Him charging something inside his mouth. The demon unleashed a energy beam, both red and black, that quickly moved towards him.

Donnie flied away a moment before the beam stroke him. He realized that while he was focused on the beam, some spheres of the black substance that constituted the ground by now had hovered from the terrain and were going for him.

Donnie had no eyebeams, so the only thing he could think of was using his last resorts to create a full force field all around himself. The force field kept him safe from the spheres, that exploded on the invisible wall releasing a black gas, or aura, that tried to enter the field without results before vanishing.

When the last sphere was gone, Donnie let the force field go and panted, weakened for the heavy use of energy.

Him teleported behind him, and before the boy could do anything, Him stroke him with his one of his claws, sending him to the ground.

When Donnie reached the earth, dark tendrils instantly began trapping him. Donnie tried to free himself, but the tendrils were already too much numerous and his force was already gone, leaving him weak.

"Where do you want to go, kid of Ultrapolis?" asked Him mockingly, which was hovering down "Beating me? Maybe, revenging the death of poor old Bronislav? You aren't going anywhere until I say so. And I will say so only when you'll be at my side!"

He landed and began walking towards him. Donnie continued to try to break free, as the demon approached. He was more and more scared as Him was becoming nearer and nearer. Suddenly, the tentacles that were holding the girls moved to a new position. The girls were now able to watch Him coming towards the yellow puff first-place. As usual, the demon wanted to entertain himself, and what's better of making his worst enemies see him slaying an innocent boy?

 _No, this can't be real,_ thought Donnie,  _after all what happened, it can't finish like this. It's not fair! I… I'm going to be killed by the same being that killed Professor Laurentium. No, please…_ he began to cry desperately as Him was only a few steps from him  _…I don't want to die… not in this way, alone and powerless. Professor…_ He closed his eyes … _Dad… help ME! SOMEBODY HELPS ME!_

"[Donnie]" said a male, warm voice "[You're not alone]."


	7. Father and Son

Donnie batted his eyelids.  _I'm crazy?,_ he thought. That voice… He remembered it. He would have never forgotten it. He had only enough will to say "Wha… What?"

"[I said you're not alone, Donnie]" repeated the voice, in Donnie's birth language. Suddenly, the tendrils that were holding vanished in dust. The terrain lightened and became pale as it was before.

Donnie realized that there was no more painful feeling in his body. He watched himself and was even more surprised to find no bruises or scratches or other hurts. He had been healed completely.  _How can this…_

"[Donnie]" repeated the voice. Donnie focused on the source of the voice. When he saw who was standing in front of him, he felt in a way that is not easy to be described.

Professor Bronislav Laurentium was there. He was wearing a lab coat similar to Professor Utonium's one, except for the fact that his one was light blue. His hair was tending to become grey, revealing that the European scientist was older than his American colleague. In addition, his skin was strangely pale. He was surrounded by a white light that brightened the surroundings. Out of the lightened zone, it was still pitch black.

Donnie couldn't believe it at first. "[Pr… Pro… Professor?]" he asked. "[Donnie…]" answered Professor Laurentium.

"[PROFESSOR!]" Donnie shouted at top of his lungs. He flied over him and nearly smashed himself on his chest. Bronislav did not move, despite the boy's strength. He held him gently on his arms, cuddling him on the head to calm him down. He was crying heavily now, and was not able to speak. "[Everything is going to be all right, Donnie. I'm here, now…]".

Him, Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup were all astonished at the sight of Professor Laurentium. The girls had no words… They simply stared at the family scene going on in front of them.

But Him was more annoyed rather than fascinated by the scene. He felt the urge to throw up at such a demonstration of love. The demon had been repelled from the boy by a unknown force some seconds before, and at the moment was staring angrily at the Professor. Him recognized the scientist because he knew his face.

"What the  _heck_  are you doing here?" he shouted, angered, in his demonic tone. Tentacles appeared in the zone as a black aura began forming around him. "You should be underground! Dead! Forever!"

"Demon, you don't seem to remember that you aren't the only being in charge in the underworld… Are you?" answered Bronislav calmly. He didn't stop to soothe his son, who didn't seem to notice and continued to cry.

Him growled. "Umpf! I don't care. In fact, I indeed remember that spirits like you can't stay in the real world… or the dream one, as in this case… forever! Being a impatient person, it's time for you to move up YOUR DEPARTURE!". Him began moving his arms quickly and in less than a second a series of black spheres and tentacles started to launch themselves to the illuminated zone. They were annihilated as soon as they touched the light. Him was so furious that he multiplied his struggles and the tentacles morphed into a giant black wave. The wave moved towards the sphere of light.

"What in the world is  _that?"_  said Buttercup, a bit frightened, as she saw the black wave coming towards them.

 _This ain't good…_ thought Blossom. Bubbles scream was cut off as soon as the wave submerged them. The black substance continued his path and impacted on the light sphere. The sphere seemed to withstand the attack, but it soon started to reduce his volume, slowly but constantly. The dark wave was continuously summoned by Him and sent towards the sphere, thus consuming it.

During all of this, Professor Laurentium had ignored Him's moves and focused on Donnie. Even so, when he noticed the fact that the light he was emitting was reducing its range, he decided it was the time.

"[Donnie?]" he said in his own language. "[Donnie? Please, answer me, it's important!]"

Donnie raised his head. His eyes were still wet and his face, despite the flow of emotions, seemed to be… happy. He didn't even notice the pandemonium going on outside.

"[I'm sorry, Donnie. After all, I'm not used with kids… But there are some things that I have to tell you, and it seems I don't have much time.]".

Donnie was not believing it: "[What're you saying with "not much time"? You're going away again?]". New tears formed around his eyes.

"[Please, we'll talk about it later! It's important. Can you do it for me, Donnie?]" asked the Professor. Donnie tried his best to remain calm. While he talked with him, the Professor walked towards an unknown destination. The white light, as well as the black substance outside, followed him. "[That's ok. Now, the Demon… Most of all the things he has told you are lies. First of all, my… end was really a casual accident]."

Donnie didn't understand at first. "[Not an accident? But he said…]"

"[Donnie, I had never kept lab animals in my laboratory in Ultrapolis. I had chosen to not use living test subjects. That rat had entered the lab in some other way… Perhaps I forgot some doors open. It was just a unfortunate coincidence of events. My fault, in a sense]."

"[It was NOT your fault!]" cried Donnie, "[It… it…]" he was not able to finish.

"[Quiet, Donnie. Quiet. It was  _nobody's_  fault, then. It was only an accident. All right?]". Donnie nodded.

"[Very well. Now, second thing was… Ok. The Demon stated you cannot beat him because he's controlling your mind. But he also said he hasn't fully taken it over, yet. That is his weakness, Donnie. You can beat that Demon if you fight him with his own weapon]."

"[What do you mean, Professor?]" asked Donnie "[I don't understand, that demon is… too strong!]".

"[He's  _that_  strong because you don't rebel against his control over your mind. You have to fight him not only physically but also mentally. He will get weaker as long as you attempt to regain control of your own subconscious. Do you understand?]"

"[Yes… I think]" said Donnie. Although he didn't know some of the science words used by Bronislav, he had caught on the general sense.

"[In addition, you're not alone in this fight, and I'm not talking of myself]."

Suddenly, Donnie heard three different gasps above them. Professor Laurentium let him hover away as the Powerpuff Girls landed in front of them. They had been trapped inside the black wave, but were freed by the light the Professor's spirit was emitting.

"My god, that was  _horrible!"_ commented Buttercup.

"Eeewww, I hope I'll never touch anything like that again!" said Bubbles.

"And I thought that cockroaches were the most disgusting thing in the world! This is  _worse!"_  complained Blossom as she cleaned her hair from inexistent filth.

"[Those girls, Donnie.]" said Professor Laurentium "[They're the best thing that could happen to this world. They inspired me to create you. They saved the city of Townsville, and even the world, dozens of times. And now they're here, despite the danger they were aware of, to help you]."

He began speaking English as he talked with the girls: "Blossom. Bubbles. Buttercup. I don't have much time, so I'll be brief. Thank you, for all you have done. Your presence here alone is enough for me to think highly of you."

At the remark, the Powerpuff Girls couldn't help but smile. "Ehm… Thanks!" answered Blossom.

Professor Laurentium resumed to talk with Donnie, but he continued to talk in English, to let Blossom and Buttercup understand their speech. "Donnie, you and the Powerpuff Girls can defeat the Demon. Work together and you shall win without any doubt." He watched the limits of the spheres, that were continuing to reduce. "My time here is finished… It seems we have to leave each other…".

"NO!" cried Donnie. He hugged him tightly, with no intention to let him go away. "Wait, Professor… Please, you can't leave me there like that  _again_ …"

Bronislav hugged him back. He had a very sad face at the sight of his creation… of his son, weeping uncontrollably. He thought for some seconds before saying: "Listen, Donnie. Know that, whatever is going to happen, I'll be always be at your side. Do not forget it. Now go and dismiss the Demon from your mind!"

Donnie let Bronislav away. He wiped his eyes from the last tears as his faced changed. It became confident and ready to fight.

"You are right, Professor… I will not let that demon win!" he uttered.

Professor Laurentium smiled and turned to the girls again. "Farewell, Blossom. Farewell, Bubbles. Farewell, Buttercup. It had been my greatest pleasure to meet you."

He watched Donnie directly in the eyes. "Farewell, Donnie. Better… Goodbye, Donnie."

Donnie maintained a quiet behavior, even though the emotions were still visible over his face. He answered "Goodbye… Dad".

The light sphere in that moment was only a few meters big in diameter. Donnie and the girls prepared for battle, positioning themselves in a square formation, close to each other. Professor Laurentium smiled, waving at them for an ultimate time, then he vanished in a white, dense cloud. In less than a second, the light disappeared and the black liquid submerged the last part of the sphere.

Him stopped his business and admired the result of his attack. The sphere of light had completely disappeared, and neither the Powerpuff Girls nor the little boy were anywhere in sight.

Suddenly, to Him's surprise, four colored streaks appeared from the dark remains of the wave and flied away. One was pink, one was light green, one was light blue… and one was yellow.

" _HIM!"_  shouted the four kids together. "YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO WIN THIS TIME!"

Him watched them in disbelief for some seconds. Then, he burst out in a evil, loud laugh.

"What did you just say?" he asked in his feminine tone, still laughing "Me… having  _no chance_ to win… here? You-ARGH!"

Buttercup had dashed towards Him without further explanations and had attacked him with an unexpected uppercut that sent the demon flying away. "Shut that mouth!" she shouted, in a threatening tone.

Him recovered almost instantly in mid-air. He grinned at Buttercup "Oh, really? Your impertinence will be punished!". He moved his claws and a single, dark tentacle was sent by the terrain towards the green puff. Him was surprised to see it, as he had summoned a  _big_ group of them, not a single one. But he thought it was sufficient, as Buttercup didn't seem to notice it.

But an eyebeam was fired and pierced through the tentacle, that pulverized as soon as it was struck by the blast. Bubbles moved around Him with a  _very_ angry face: "You'll pay for what you've done, evil!"

Him glared at the blue puff. He was beginning to get annoyed. "You shouldn't have done-OUCH!", he was stopped by a kick in his back. Blossom had sneaked behind him. The demon did not wait this time, and teleported himself at a safe distance from the Powerpuff Girls.

Him was furious. "How would you stupid girls dare me? There is no possibility for you to win! In this place, my power is unlimited!". He concentrated and eventually managed to create a series of tentacles as well as black spheres from the terrain, sending all of them towards the girls. The three puffs began avoiding the new threats, trying to fight them.

"You won't be able to resist forever! Sooner or later, you'll be-OW!" a light blue energy grenade detonated over him. Everyone else would have been stunned, but the demon, despite the sudden lack of control over the place, was still a fearful fighter. Him recovered in little time and turned to face the one who launched the grenade.

"Ooh, Donnie!" he said, mockingly "How has it been, your last family reunion? Lovable? Unforgettable? I hope so, because it will be your last MEMORY!". Donnie did not react to the threat.

Him teleported in front of him and tried to catch him with one of his sharp claws. But Donnie had predicted his action, therefore raising a force field to protect himself. Him's claw impacted on the invisible wall with no effect.

"You think you can stop me? WRONG!" bellowed Him. He said something not hearable, and Donnie suddenly felt the force field disappearing against his will. Thinking fast, instead of escaping he punched Him in the stomach. Him lost his breath and Donnie took advantage of the situation to cover him with kicks and punches. He eventually grabbed him and threw him away… directly to the girls.

"Package incoming!" advised Buttercup as she saw the demon coming towards them. The Powerpuff Girls welcomed Him with a flurry of combined attacks that lasted unstopped for about twenty seconds. They ended with a last kick that sent Him away.

Donnie was already there ready to receive the demon and do the last attack. He raised another force field and charged at Him. They collided, and Donnie went towards the ground as fast as he could, with the force field separating himself from Him. The demon was slammed at high speed, while Donnie was unharmed thanks to his shield.

The yellow puff hovered away. The Powerpuff Girls quickly reached him and together they stared at Him. He seemed to be unconscious.

But suddenly he hovered in the air, a black aura surrounding his body. His health-regeneration abilities had cured his body, but there was still a little crack on one of his claws. He was really peeved: "I swear it! I swear that I will have no peace until all four of you will be reduced to DUST!"

He lowered his tone and his face turned from the angered to the wicked one. "And do not think you have won. I'll be back, little brats!". With that said, Him disappeared, leaving a crimson cloud where he was.

* * *

Donnie abruptly woke up. He would have jumped in the air, but he stayed in his position, kept fixed to the surface he was lying on by something. He also felt something covering his head, some type of metal thing. But quickly, the 'hat' was taken away from him, and someone quickly unblocked the chains that were holding him.

Donnie found himself very weak. He watched his body only to see bruises all over his skin, and to realize that his shirt was almost completely gone. He then raised his head to see the face of Professor Utonium looking at him with a concerned face. "Donnie?" he called. Donnie stared at him as to say "Yes?" and the Professor continued "How do you feel? Are you ok?"

Donnie nodded. He turned his face and gave a glance to the lab he was in. Then, he saw the girls. They were sitting on tables similar to the one he was sitting on. Three metal helmets had been left on the 'beds'. They looked hurt, even though they didn't seem to be too weak.

"I think I can say that it's all finished, Donnie" said the Professor "the girls woke up three minutes ago. They told me a brief recap of what had happened and were a lot worried for you. I sincerely was, too, until you woke up. Now, I can say that you have been officially 'cured'."

Donnie watched the Professor. " 'Cured' ? Do you mean… I'm not going to be anymore…  _He_  has gone away?"

"Yes, Donnie" said Blossom. Donnie turned to her as she continued "Him's manipulations were the only cause of your problem. Without Him, your other self is no more existing in both the real and the dream world.  _He'll never return_."

Donnie sighed in relief. His eyes began to wet as he tried to move out of the bed. He wanted to get near the girls, to thank them. But he was too weak. He was going to fall when the girls, that despite their own weakness were able to fly, went to him and grabbed him before he could fall. Then, the three of them embraced him in a big hug in the air.

Donnie couldn't help but hug back. He continued to cry… a joyful cry of happiness, this time.

* * *

_Epilogue_

The City of Townsville, in a beautiful fall morning. In the park, various colored leaves were flying in the air, brought around by the wind, while the birds prepared themselves for the upcoming trip. The observatory of Mojo Jojo looked very quiet, with still the three holes on the roof and no scope over it. The evil genius was still in prison.

Four kids were sitting on the edge of one of the tallest skyscrapers of the town, watching the dawn over the park, the observatory and the buildings beyond. They were lucky because there were no clouds covering the sky. A week had passed from the day when the 'stranger' entered the town for the first time.

"It is… amazing…" commented Donnie, enraptured by the sight.

"And this is not the best one!" said Bubbles "Wait to see the sunset on the sea!"

"I'd love to do so, Bubbles" replied Donnie "But you know, I have to go…"

"Can't you stay a bit longer?" asked Buttercup. She quickly added "I mean, I know it's your duty to return, it's your birth city, and all… But…"

"Don't worry, Buttercup" reassured Donnie, smiling at the green puff "I know what you're thinking of. I'll return to visit you, you've my word".

"And stay in contact!" added Blossom. Donnie nodded, then he stood up. Shortly afterwards the girls followed him.

"Then, this is a goodbye…" said Blossom. "It seems like that…" replied Donnie.

Suddenly, Bubbles rushed over Donnie and gave him a forceful hug. Donnie was taken aback and just stood, surprised. Bubbles didn't let him go away for about half a minute, until Donnie asked "Bubbles?"

As sudden as the hug itself, Bubbles let Donnie go away and made a few steps back. Her gaze moved from Donnie to her sisters, who were curious, and finally to the floor. She visibly blushed.

Blossom tried her best to not giggle, while Buttercup made a grimace of disgust. Donnie, however, did not catch on the reason of their reaction. The one who was going to explain him it to him was Bubbles herself, who however spoke in Donnie's birth language.

Whatever Bubbles had said to Donnie, it was enough to make him blush too. "What did you say?" asked Buttercup suspiciously.

"Errmh… I said 'goodbye' to him and… and that we're looking forward to see him again!" said Bubbles, nervously.

"If you say so…" said Blossom, winking at her sister. Bubbles made a long breath to calm herself down as it was Blossom's turn to say goodbye to Donnie. She also gave a hug to him, even though this time it was softer. "Take care of yourself, friend. We'll always be there if you need our help…".

"I know, Blossom" answered Donnie "I know…".

Blossom let him go as it was Buttercup's turn. With a impudent tone, she said "Heck, do not even think of it! There had been enough hugs for today…". She nudged him on the shoulder, saying "However… Goodbye, little kid. See ya' soon!"

Donnie answered with another nudge on her own shoulder, smiling. She had a point, as the girls were older than him.

The three girls regrouped as Donnie began talking: "Girls… I don't know how can I thank you. You have done so much for me… with me. Professor Laurentium wasn't only my father… he was a wise man. When he said that you were the best thing that could happen to the world... He didn't say that casually. You  _really are so._ And I've been so lucky to meet you… And not only because you saved me. The last days were the best days of my life…"

"Oh, stop it, you girly" teased Buttercup "We just did our job!".

"Yes! We are all superheroes, aren't we?" said Bubbles.

"Of course, Bubbles, and superheroes help each other!" concluded Blossom.

"You're right… But know a thing: I will  _never_ forget you.  _Never"_ said Donnie.

There were some seconds of silence before Donnie said "I guess it's time to go. Ultrapolis is waiting for me… I can feel it, even though it's going to be hard at first. Again, thank you girls… Goodbye."

"Goodbye!" said the Powerpuff Girls at once.

Donnie hovered in the air, then he waved at them for a last time before flying away towards the rising sun, towards the Atlantic ocean… towards Europe.

* * *

Mr. Gray had woken up early that morning, because of a important reunion he needed to attend that had been programmed for a questionable time. He was exiting from his favorite bar, where he had breakfast, when he heard a 'whoosh' sound above him. He raised his head to see the yellow beam of light again, after a week from the first time he had seen it.

He shuddered, but he reassured himself. He knew the story of the boy thanks to the articles he read on the newspapers the days before. The boy had become Townsville's main topic of discussion. He was aware of the fact that the yellow-eyed kid was no more a threat for the city.

 _That little boy is just like the Powerpuff Girls,_ he thought,  _I wonder where's he going now, alone… Maybe he's returning to his home. To protect his own city, I guess… Oh well, it's good to think that now Townsville isn't going to be the only city in the world protected by the evil. But wait a second..._

The man watched his wrist watch and gasped in shock: "Good Heavens! I'm late! I knew I should have put more alarm clocks! Dang my heavy sleep…". He ran through the street, heading for his working place.

Mr. Gray was right. From that moment, the Powerpuff Girls were no longer alone in their crime-fighting job in the world. It was the beginning of a new era…

And so, the day is saved. Once again, thanks to the Powerpuff Girls… And in a sense, for the very first time, thanks to Donnie!

_**THE END** _


End file.
